Saturday, October 15, 2016

Is American Journalism Capitalism's Greatest Failure?

Capitalism, like science, does not ensure good results. In fact, most ventures in free enterprise result in failure. But characteristic of both capitalism and science is the mechanism of self-correction. Free enterprise is free inquiry with poker chips.

Before I made a policy of minimizing conversation with Obama Zombies I used to point out to the brain dead that America's most viable industries--high tech and entertainment--just happen to be the least regulated sectors of the economy. Had we continued to practise dog eat dog capitalism in other industries, we might lead the world there, as well. In other words, Detroit would still be Detroit.

Where my ideas hit a roadblock, is when they collide with the news industry. On the surface, journalism should be a viable trade, sympathetic to consumer demand, specifically the consumer hungry for truth. It is still a largely unregulated field and it rewards its workers handsomely. Even the minnows make seven-figure salaries. I don't think Don Lemon will transition to diesel mechanic anytime soon.

The one obstacle that traditionally worked against journalism is the steep barrier of entry that plagued TV, radio and newspapers. Oligarchies naturally ensued. Cable television and the Internet should have leveled the playing field. Still, the dinosaur media migrated to cyberland with all of their many shortcomings. The MSM are as fundamentally dishonest as ever.

One would think that journalism would mirror entertainment television and produce a lot of crap but redeem itself with things like "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men" and "The Americans". Even Hollywood Leftists can overcome their silliness to produce greatness. Not so, American journalism.

Let me remind you that this commentary is prompted by the recent full court assault on Donald Trump's character. Briefly, this orchestrated scandal does not pass the smell test. Has anyone noticed that we live in a litigious society? Did you know Donald Trump has deep pockets? How can anyone stay in the public spotlight for the better part of four decades, grab and grope with abandon and never once get sued? Contrast this with Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby whose lawyers have been doing damage control going back to the last century. Add Gloria Allred to the mix and the remaining credibility blows out the window.

I was not a Donald Trump fan. I never saw "The Apprentice" and I saw maybe 20 minutes of "Celebrity Apprentice". Viscerally, I did not like him. As a presidential candidate, he might have been my fifth choice. Over time, I have come to admire Trump for his tenacity. I have never seen a fighter with so much heart. Now, Trump is taking on the corrupt and chronically dishonest news media. All of them! Finally! Finally, we have a public figure who does not bow down to these demons! Anyone who fights the corrupt media, fights for us!

Let me contain my enthusiasm to return to the failure of American journalism. The press, as it used to be called, is the only institution with a lower approval rating than Congress. It can't get much worse but it has not started to rebound either. This article from The Washington Examiner compares the trust factor of the press against other information outlets. Only 12% of the US trusts Facebook as a source but that number is twice as high as their trust in "the media."

The American Press Institute is the source of the 6% figure, I had never heard of this group until today but I can tell you that they are highly critical of their own profession.

The news media is still a force to be reckoned with. They determined the last two presidential elections and have provided ongoing support to the Obama agenda. They have, however, done these things at a cost. That cost is diminished credibility. Do they still have the clout to decide a presidential election? That is the pivotal question of 2016.

Here are a couple of things to consider about the MSM's viability.

1. Despite wall to wall Trump-bashing, Rasmussen still has him in the lead over Hillary, 43 to 41.

2. Google trends for Wikileaks greatly exceeds interest in Trump allegations.

For all of the money, the competition, and the hunger for truth, why has American journalism failed so grandly? Maybe capitalism isn't the magic bullet after all. Maybe it is all a matter of hubris. When overpaid readers come to believe that it is their job to decide elections rather to inform the public, no economic system ever devised can save the institution.

We have a lot of time to ask how it all went wrong. For now, I repose the question: Is American Journalism Capitalism's Greatest Failure?







Friday, October 14, 2016

Are We Really Going To Fight World War III For ISIS?

I think nuclear annihilation is unseemly. If we must destroy civilization can we at least do so in defense of the civilized?

In my view, the Assad regime is a lesser evil that the "rebels" who are tied to both Al Qeda and ISIS. The Neo-Cons and the Leftists are on the same page when it comes to Syria and Russia. One of the overlooked moments of the last presidential debate was Hillary's proposal to create a no-fly zone in Syria. In other words, we would shoot down Russian planes and start World War III to protect ISIS.

I say America First.  Not surprisingly, Barack Obama does not share my views.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/world-war-3-barack-obama-could-take-a-major-step-toward-war-with-russia-on-friday

This is the rigged system we have heard so much about. The Neo-Con/Left, Clnton/Bush/Obama coalition is a giant death cult. Let us hope and pray that it is not too late to sidetrack them.

The Bad News Is The Clintons Control The Media. The Good News...

Is that most people don't believe the media anymore.

1. Gallup  tracks the ongoing decline of dinosaur media.

2. American journalists no longer gathers news. They filter news and they are proud of their work.
     Compare and contrast the roles of MSM with Wikileaks, DC Leaks, Judicial Watch or Anonymous.
     Simply put, the new outlets want more news, the old outlets want less news. In "Fahrenheit 451" firemen
     are deployed to burn books. A similar irony now exists with journalism. Traditionally, we think of                  reporters as people who tell us something we do not know. In the case of Wikileaks or Judicial Watch,
     reporters are dispatched to discredit the purveyors of information. "They have right wing ties." "Russia is
     behind this outbreak of news."
     Fiction cannot compete with reality. Arson-engaging firemen is not quite as absurd as news-suppressing
     journalists.

3. The most significant stories are ignored by the American journalism gild even after they are exposed by                others. To list but three:

     A.) Russia is preparing its citizens for nuclear war with the US. Comment: To cover this development is to
          expose the shortcomings of the Obama Administration and the Clinton State Department.
     B.) Voter fraud is widespread. Comment: Wholesale voter fraud is being performed by the Democrats
            and in their unending loyalty to the Democratic Party, the media will not touch this.
     C.) Starvation and chaos in oil-rich Venezuela. Comment: Covering this story could cloud the pipe dream
           of Bernie Sanders' socialist paradise.

        3 suppressed stories. We could probably come up with 300. That's why we have a blogosphere.

4. This point is related to the three above but bears mentioning. Even for domestic news, foreign outlets  
     provide information American outlets will not touch. The British tabs, "Russia Today", "Al Jazeera",
     "Canada Free Press" to name but a few stars that sometimes shine. Thank you, DARPA.

5. Donald Trump has pledged to fight the corporate media establishment. At last! No other  
    Republican--or anyone else for that matter--has had the gonads to fight this multi-headed monster.
    Only Trump has identified big media as enemy and is willing to fight them for us.
    This is Yuge!
   

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Did Wikileaks Reveal A Scalia Assassination?

http://usanewsflash.com/just-wikileaks-email-just-reveal-assassination-justice-scalia/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The discussion of "wet works",  days before Scalia's deatrh:
From:elmendorf@teamsubjectmatter.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com
I am all in


Sounds like it will be a bad nite , we all need to buckle up and double down
From:  John Podesta [mailto:john.podesta@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2016 4:36 PM

To: Steve Elmendorf <elmendorf@teamsubjectmatter.com>

Subject: Thanks

Didn't think wet works meant pool parties at the Vineyard.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-13/

Despite The Smears, Trump Still Ahead In Ohio

Thanks to Fire Andrea Mitchell.

BTW, NBC tends to stack the deck with Dems in their polls.

Tom Brady, The Left, Hyperpolitics, Pack Journalism, Witch Hunts, Blatant Media Bias Condensed For Your Enjoyment

Even if you don't follow football, this story should disturb you. Why? For one thing, it shows how the Left has covertly infiltrated every aspect of our culture. Two, it illustrates once more, that everything is political--even things like sports and weather and escapism--for the Left.

A bit of background. When The Boston Bruins were invited to the White House following their Stanley Cup championship, goalie Tim Thomas boycotted the procession, making no secret of his dislike for President Obama. Years later, the Patriots win the Super Bowl and are invited to the White House. Brady, who is rumored to disapprove of the president (either his policies, his thuggish actions, his trollish personality or possibly all of these things) discreetly cites a family commitment and skips the photo op.

Years later, Tom Brady is accused of deflating footballs to make them easier to handle in cold weather. The news media is unusually vicious and the NFL is unusually aggressive. Then it is revealed that Brady is a friend of Donald Trump. The front office turns up the heat.

Two facts that would have been significant in a bygone era: 1. It was never proved that Brady or anyone else deflated footballs. 2. There is no evidence that his performance improved if he did deflate footballs. An entire year was played out under increased scrutiny and Brady had one of his best seasons ever. But Brady snubbed Obama, he is friends of Donald Trump, and Commissioner Roger Goodell is chummy with Barack Obama. Thus, Brady is awarded a four game suspension.

The Leftists in the media (which is to say all of them) will give the reprobate no rest. The Left, once more, ruins something good.






Ooops. Trumps Back In Lead In Two Polls

First, the uber-leftist LA Times

And now, the center-right RasmussenReports

Better gear up that smear campaign. Has Trump kicked any dogs?

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

I Wish I Could Find The Time To Read All The Wikileaks

Hillary's campaign head, Bian Fallon seems to have had a cozy relationship with DOJ.


Remember When John McCain Cussed Out A Female Reporter?

BUT HE CANNOT SUPPORT THAT BRASH DONALD TRUMP

The "Bill Clinton Is A Rapist" Theatrics Continue



AND IT NEVER GETS OLD

I Have Been Skeptical Of The Post-Debate Polling Showing Hillary Up Eleven And...

It is Bogus!

Not only is the methodology fraudulent (weighted to include more Dems) it was conducted by a Hillary Super-Pac.

The poll seemed odd because everyone in the blogosphere and on talk radio was pleased with Trump's debate performance. It provided radioland plenty of sound bites.

BTW, the CNN poll that said Hillary won the debate....

  Among those surveyed, 58 percent said they supported Clinton before the debate, which commentators have

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/2016-presidential-debate-cnn-poll-229516#ixzz4MqKOd12X 
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

That's right, 58 percent were Hillary supporters. 

The Never-Trumpers Might Yet Get Hillary Elected

Limbaugh and even the more even-minded Howie Carr registered a lot of angst and disgust at the Republicans who have been so quick to dump on Donald Trump. But if you look at the Republicans/Cons who are twisting the steel, most of them we do not need anyway.

Sure, it hurts to lose Mike Lee or Jason Chaffetz. There is something suspicious about the mass of Mormons who have pledged their allegiance to Hillary. Not just those two but also Mitt Romney, Gleen Beck and Mia Love. What's up, guys? Can you let us in on your little secret?

But let's face it. Paul Ryan has already revealed his fraudulent nature. Was he ever on our side? Was Kelly Ayotte ever on anyone but Kelly's side? Or Susan Collins? Or John McCain?

A lot of people have noticed that everyone at Fox News not named Hannity or Pirro has turned on Trump. I still watch Fox Business News from time to time but I can't watch those other weasels. I was never a Gutfeld fan and it is hard to click on a network that has given that unfunny, not particularly insightful guy, three shows. These are political class wannabes. Did you expect them to support us?

Howie Carr mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger, William Weld and Kathy Lee Gifford. Who cares? We can have a lot of fun with all of them but how many votes could they deliver anyway?

So many of these invertebrates were just looking for an excuse to jump ship. That silly ass, eleven-year-old Billy Bush tape--lame as it is--provided the justification. It's not like they were helping us anyway.The old rule of thumb was that every twelfth member was a Judas. With Republicans, that number is about four in one. Most of them are worthless to either side but there might be enough Benedict Arnolds to tip the scales in Hillary's favor.

Joy Behar Proves That We Can Still Be Shocked In This Jaded Age

So Joy, was Juanita Broaddrick asking for it? She was an RN after all. And she was trying to open a nursing home. Everyone knows that people who go into glamorous trades like nursing home care are motivated only by a quest for personal glory. And everyone knows that when you accept a meeting with your state's attorney general, you are giving your consent to whatever pleases him.

Poor, poor Bill. Those tramps just would not leave him alone.

WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST

Monday, October 10, 2016

Trump Could Not Have Been Much Better In The Debate

Maybe not a perfect game or even a no-hitter but Trump probably pitched a shutout. I will give credit to Hillary. She was on point and lawyerly. She does have here own atrocious record to defend, as well as the Obama economy and a conglomeration of issues that result in a 3/4's of America saying we are on the wrong track. With those obvious disadvantages, Hillary did well.

Trump, on the other hand, was masterful. Had he been this assertive in the first debate, the pundits might already be declaring him victorious. When asked about Obamacare, Trump worked in Jonathan Gruber and Obama's oft-repeated lie, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, period. If you like your plan..." Beautiful.

All of Trump's responses echoed a common theme that he is not just running against Hillary, he is running against a broken system, a system that is rigged for the benefit of insiders.

Oh, the press conference with four victims. Hillary later recited some babble about "When they go low, we go high." This after the weekend Billy Bush sleeze play? Hillary, you and your people could not find your way to the high road if we spotted you an Onstar GPS. There's an old saying about glass houses. Looks like two can take the low road, huh Bill?

Most heartening event of the weekend: Trump supporters, insulted by the ridiculous double standards of the MSM, show up at Trump Tower on Saturday to chant "Trump" and "USA". This was almost as much fun as the hecklers chanting "Trump" over Paul Ryan's empty words in Wisconsin. And the recurring "Bill Clinton is a rapist" meme is popping up at the most unexpected of places.

CNN insists Hillary won the second debate. I disagree. She is in trouble with or without more Wikileaks.

Paul Ryan At Fail Fest

WHEN THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM GETS DWARFED BY THE MASTODON IN THE ROOM

Sarah Palin's Words Ring Truer Than Ever

ROGUE v. WIMP