Fox News: The New Pravda

In my opinion, Fox News Channel has reached Dante's Fifth Level (Anger) in their descent to Journalistic Hell. For months, they have been diligent in digging toward this tier by ignoring anything that begins to look like  'journalistic objectivity' or 'journalistic integrity'. Instead, 24/7, they shriek how horrible Trump is, how terrible a president he will be. Never mind that they have no way of knowing what kind of president he will be since he's never held public office. Instead, their matra is 'We'll ignore that and don't bother us with the facts, they're unimportant'.

Fox, as a 'news' outlet, has the obligation to be objective - not biased. Trump, on the other hand, has no such obligation. He is just being Trump and he has every right to be Trump. Smart or stupid, good or bad, on point and fact or not - he has just as much right to be who he is as any other individual. Although, given that he is running for the highest office in the land, he does have an obligation to stop being stupid, start being smart, and be presidential in demeanor.

Fox, as a news organization, has a responsibility to remain objective, to report and let viewers decide. If they are going to slant things as they see fit, regardless of the facts, they are no longer a news organization. They are an opinion organization and the 'PRESS' credentials can be flushed. It has gotten so bad that Fox News has openly become the television equivalent to the old Soviet news outlet Pravda. They are nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the #NeverTrump campaign.

Look at who they talk to: Rich Lowry of the National Review which put out an entire edition dedicated to #NeverTrump blathering. George Will - also of the National Review and another card carrying member of the #NeverTrump group. Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard and another Washington Insider who Trump scares the pants off. Karl Rove, a worn out political advisor with a white board. He's the one who brought us George Bush II who brought us the economic melt-down that just won't go away.

When Fox does fumigate its hallways and allow one of Trump's supporters in, they are so snotty, so rude and obviously in pain to allow that person to speak, it's palpable in my living room. It's disgusting.

Fox's tagline should be changed to 'Unfair and Biased', which is observable fact, or they should change their name entirely to Pravda-USA.

Twenty-five years or so ago, CNN was the network 'everyone' watched. It was the first 24-hour news outlet. At first we watched because we didn't have a choice. If we wanted to know what was going on in the world, CNN was the only choice but we still, at the time, adopted from others that CNN stood for 'Clinton News Network'. It was all Clinton, all positive, all the time - and it left us feeling cheated. We saw it as nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the Clinton administration. No matter what Billy-Jeff did, CNN would ignore or parse the truth until the truth became unrecognizable.

Then Fox News appeared. It became available on our cable service and as soon as we could, we switched. We were tired of the ridiculous leftist bias and, for the past decade and more, it seemed to be the better choice. They didn't have an obvious bias. They did try to show both sides of the picture and then let the viewer decide.

That, however, has changed and the change is accelerating - sliding into a terminal downward spiral. They'll probably just leap right over Levels Six (Heresy) and Seven (Violence) and settle in at home at Level Eight - Treachery. When I do pause to see what's happening on Fox, there are strong whiffs of sulfur from that Level already.

In the past few years, chinks began to appear at Fox. Little things, like their coverage of breaking news events. We found ourselves glued to CNN because their reporting was broader, more incisive and, overall, better. When disaster struck, Choice No. 1 became CNN. Oh, yeah, we would flip back once in a while, but the majority of our viewing during times of crisis was kept to CNN. We still didn't watch regularly because they still had that heavy leftward tilt.

This election cycle, though, the tilt has gone wildly in the other direction over on Fox. They have such a hate thing going against Trump - almost across the talking-head spectrum - that they have become not just biased, but have made it perfectly clear that they are a major contributor to the #NeverTrump campaign. Perhaps not in dollars, but in free media time, and it's disgraceful.

The list of #NeverTrump campaigners is long: Megyn Kelly, Charles Krauthammer, Chris Wallace, Bill O'Reilly, Brett Baier, David Asman, Karl Rove and many others. Because of their open and flagrant opposition to one political candidate over the other, they have lost any journalistic qualities they might have once had.

Aside from that, they report fluff over substance. Case in point: This morning I turned on the news. It happened that the station was CNN. They were showing a Pentagon debriefing in which a couple of DoD types were talking about the killing of a top leader of ISIS. That is pertinent news - it's top of the stack for most people around the world because what are we all talking about when it comes to world affairs? ISIS. From that, CNN switched to reports about raids and arrests in Belgium. They showed video of one suspect being shot and taken into custody.

Curious, I flipped over to Fox to see what they were reporting and... Laughably, embarrassing to Roger Ailes and his Fox News organization, they were talking about some human interest story somewhere in middle America. Then they started talking about a new iPhone gizmo.

Really? A news outlet that has feeds to major breaking news around the world chooses to show and bloviate about cops shoveling snow (good for them, it's a good deed but not potentially of international import) and a new iPhone doodad. Fox has lost it for me - zero credibility across the board - although I will still watch Fox Business News over CNBC because they, at least have a brain and know where it's kept.

My leaving Fox is primarily because their bias / hatred of Donald Trump is so flagrant. Almost across the board there is absolutely nothing like 'fair and balanced' in their reporting on him. There are exceptions, but they are very few and very far between.

Sean Hannity is one. He does an excellent job of keeping it fair and balanced. My problem with him, though, is that he has a litany of ills that he repeats like the Catechism or a priest's penance after confession. Turning on his show I can count on at least ten minutes every night going through that litany as he ticks them off on his fingers. It's a waste of time after the third iteration and annoying after the fifth.

Lou Dobbs is another. I love that man - he's got a great sense of humor, he's quick and he's smart. When someone says something stupid or questionable, he's not going to give it pass - he'll ask for more or clarification or outright challenge the statement. He's also up to talking in a balanced fashion about the GOP candidates - and I appreciate that.

Neil Cavuto is pure smart / funny. I love him, too (although the constant 'thank you very, very much' gets to be very, very annoying). He's another who keeps it real, who doesn't openly take sides in this match.

Among these three I don't know who is supporting whom in this race - although I have my suspicions - but at least they aren't out trashing one candidate over and over again. If someone does or says something stupid, they report it and move on - they don't belabor it ad nauseum the way Fox Opinion / Pravda-USA does.

So for me, no more. It's open war on Trump, using their FCC license without compunction to sway voters and it's despicable. Fox News has become Pravda-USA - a political propaganda mouthpiece for The Weekly Standard, the National Review, the Washington Establishment and the Donor Class so, since I have a choice, I'll go back to watching CNN.
It is still, disgustingly, the Clinton News Network when the discussion is between the DNC and the RNC or the Dems and GOP, but at least there is some semblance of balance and, when real news is breaking, they're on it.

See ya Roger! Bye Megyn! Hello, Anderson and Don and Dana!

Hope you'll pass the word and then join me.

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Do You Know What I Like About Donald Trump?

There are a lot of things I like about The Donald, even including his crudity because it's honest. It's a case of tongue=>brain v. brain=>tongue. He almost always speaks from the heart instead of calculating and weighing everything that he's going to say before letting it escape.

Consider the other day when all the press was up in arms because he spoke a Truth about what happened to Hilliary back in 2008. She got whipped by Obie-One. Despite fighting hard, she got "schlonged" and lost the election. Because Donald Trump said something publicly in the heat of a political season that at least one person said back in 2011 there is a plethora of panty twisting going on here in America and across The Pond in the U.K.

So what was said back then in 2011? Golly - here it is:

"...according to The Washington Post:

Only one use of "schlonged" as a verb came from a respected political source. In 2011, NPR's Neal Conan made this observation (to The Post's Chris Cillizza) on the 1984 Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro campaign: "That ticket went on to get schlonged at the polls..."

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a40714/donald-trump-schlonged-definition/

So, as you can see from that, it was first used by NPR, a left-wing media outlet in reference to another political campaign which also happened to be a Democrat ticket. Now, can we all say "double-standard"?

In recent days, all of the media talking heads have had their figurative hands over their mouths in shock at the fact that he used such a disgusting term! As if they have never once said or thought something equally as foul. Not on camera because they would get fired, but come on - in private they've never said or thought anything like that? Even Grandma in Iowa has heard (and probably used) the words before. This Pre-Cultural Revolution pretense at shock-talk is stupid. It is utterly false and pathetically disingenuous.

So back to Donald. In my view, above all the other characteristics a human being can have, the most important trait is honesty. I don't care who you are or what you look like, I care about how truthful you are - not just in deed but in word. And, if you have a habit of saying precisely what you think without filter, that's just fine. I'm a grown up and have heard (and used) all the words before. It's not new, it's not shocking and that's another point of laughter for me because I know that all these idiots that are pretending shock are lying about their reaction. They've used the words before, too.

No matter. Donald Trump is crude, coarse and would do far better in a barnyard amongst the pigs and muck than at a state dinner when it comes to his speech habits. He does routinely denigrate women while saying that he admires them, but I think that's the same as some people in various communities referring to friends in less than sparkling terms. Like some young men referring to their friends as "motherfucker" or women calling friends "bitch" or worse. Common pejoratives are routinely turned on their head and used as compliments. In sport, for instance, I've heard illiterate broadcasters say that a player is "filthy good". I've been down this path - it's a stupid use of that adjective, but it is what it is.

Donald speaks from his heart, not from his brain. If he spoke from his brain, weighing every single last thing that he says, he would be no different at all from every other calculating politician. But it's refreshing, in my view, to have someone who does speak plainly.

The other thing in this that I find amusing is that all the media are rushing to Hilliary's aid and comfort, saying what a nasty horrible man Donald is. As if we don't all know that already, and as if that woman needs aid and comfort.

She has skin a mile thick. She's been in the arena of public politics - both with her husband and on her own for long enough that I'm confident she hasn't a single chink in her armor.

If she has had her feelings hurt by Donald Trump then she had better throw in the towel on her campaign right now because there's a whole lot worse in the world than him.

At least with Trump's in-your-face approach to things, you know where he stands and what he's thinking. If it's over the top, you can go toe-to-toe with him, call him out and demand an explanation because there's little wiggle room. With the squishy-touchy-feelie language used by most other people, it's harder to pin down and demand explanation. Which is why I do like Donald's up front approach to things. You know where you stand. You know what he thinks. There's no ambiguity and right now, for this world, we need clarity and I think Donald is the guy to bring it.

So that's what I like about Donald Trump.

Now - have a lovely Christmas! I'm taking tomorrow off, but I'll be back Saturday.

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

What Makes a Person "Bulletproof"?

According to American Law, at least in theory, no one is supposed to be above it. We're all supposed to be subject to the same blind Justice no matter who we are or what we do. Of course, that's sadly laughable. Just turn on the news and see the different strokes for different folks playing out on a daily basis.

What got me thinking about this is the fact that people don't seem to care anymore whether someone is honest, or whether they're a renowned liar. Honesty, integrity, ethics and values, the important points in a person's character just don't seem to matter.

Personally, I hate being lied to. It's a sign of either fear or utter disrespect. Since I'm not a particularly scary person and have no sway over anyone else, I have to believe that when someone lies to me, it's because they don't respect me. And that bothers me. Particularly if it's someone I've hired for a job.

Now, you might say, "Ah ha! You hired them, therefore you do have power over them!" And that would be true - if it were a regular job in which I am either their employer or their supervisor.

But when I vote to elect someone into public office, that's a form of hiring. They're going to work, supposedly representing me and my neighbors and, in exchange, they'll get paid. It's a job - just look at the Career Politicians we have.

So I don't really have power or control over them, not unless they really do badly, in which case the majority of that person's constituents have to get together and agree, then there's the messy business of a recall election. How often does that happen?

With all that's happening with Hillary Clinton again, I am astonished that she is doing so well in the polls. Is it because the majority of people who say they would vote to elect her like being lied to? Have they no self-respect, or are they truly the moronic ignorant hands-out sheeple that some people say they are? Mindless creatures who cannot, under any circumstance, think for themselves or discern right from wrong - is that who these people are?

I mean, let's face it, there has got to be some fire under all that smoke. That thick haze has been pretty constant for more than twenty years, now.

Remember the Rose Law Firm and the Whitewater investigation? Two years or something into it, the files just magically appeared in Hillary's White House office. Of course, they had been carefully purged of anything remotely damning but, golly gee whiz, there they were!

Remember Vince Foster and his "suicide"? That case was never solved, never definitively proved one way or the other, but whispers went around for months after the event. There was doubt that it was suicide. Some said that it was a murder because the scene made no sense and the Clintons or their associates were complicit.

Then there was Filegate. The FBI file scandal where one of the Clinton aides was accused of gathering files and information on people the Clintons didn't like.

And Travelgate and futures trading, investigations galore and accusations of perjury. and all the rest of them. Since Bill and Hillary first appeared on the national stage, it has been one scandal or another without relief.

While Hillary was Secretary of State, hubby Bill wanted to go to North Korea and the Congo and collect speaker's fees, for Heaven's sake!

More recently there was Benghazi and her 'what does it matter' comment. Now, that, taken out of context, is damning. In the time, it was spoken in frustration and without thought, but still...

A woman who wants to be President is sitting in a hearing room with the grieving families of the men killed that night, on television, and she basically says 'who cares'? Oh, yeah. That's who I want as a leader. Yep - with that attitude I'll follow 'em... nowhere.

Now there's the scandal over whether she was sending and receiving classified information across an open domain service. That's pretty scary. Our national secrets aren't precisely secret, anyway. Not with Snowden and the Chinese and Israelis snooping around, but it's a nice illusion to keep that at least some of our secrets will remain secret. But where is the sense of loyalty and responsibility?

When I worked for a government defense contractor a few years ago, they were very serious about security. I had no clearance at all but if I plugged anything into their network, IT knew about it. If I sent an e-mail, IT knew about it and had access to it. There was no privacy there - it was all for them, as it should be in a national defense setting.

Yet Hillary Clinton, the wannabe next President, doesn't seem to have one shred or iota of intelligence when it comes to our nation's intelligence. She certainly hasn't any commonsense, or any sense at all. If I was her mother I would give her a good hard shake and demand to know, "What were you thinking?"

Answer to that would no doubt be, "I wasn't" and that is not the kind of person I want sitting in the White House with the nuclear codes to hand.

Still, for many, she is bulletproof. She is above the law and must be excused from all culpability no matter what she does or how damaging it might be to our country. Her sycophants just wave their hands and say, 'oh, that doesn't matter.'

There's a word for that, but I'll let you guess what it is.

Have a lovely day.

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories