I’M BEGINNING TO THINK THAT ALL THE TALK ABOUT FREE SPEECH AND ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN THE 1950S AND 1960S WAS JUST TO PROTECT COMMIES: Howie Carr: Left cries 1st Amendment only when convenient.
Related (From Ed): As I wrote in 2014, World’s Longest Modified Limited Hangout Concludes.
“POLITICO’S OUTKICK [THE COVERAGE] FABRICATION SPEAKS VOLUMES:”
I did what I could to answer Ben Strauss’ questions as well as I could, while still producing, occasionally popping on air when Clay asked me a question, and handling the phone calls. This was by no means me sitting in front of an interviewer, but Strauss relentlessly grilled me on all aspects of Outkick, my politics, and Clay’s brand of entertainment.
If you read the Politico article, you’ll notice he quoted me several times in the roughly 4500 word piece. I probably spoke over ten thousand to him myself, but he picked about six sentences. Before I discuss those, let me explain how the interview went down. I can’t accurately describe how many times I was asked some variation of this question:
So, did Clay Travis make a conscious decision to appeal to the right for monetary and celebrity purposes?
It wouldn’t just come as a question, as it would also include something like, “I mean you guys know what you’re doing, and it’s clearly working for you, but this was intentional, right?” That’s paraphrasing, but he felt the need to make up quotes and insinuations from me, so I’ll do the same to him. But, I’ll be courteous enough to admit it, and also won’t take him out of context, as he did to me.
I refused to give him the answer he walked in the door craving. This guy had an agenda, he had his title picked out, he had his “gotcha” piece scripted out in his head before he ever shook hands with either one of us this past Monday morning. To call this article biased and littered with manipulation would be a massive understatement.
Strauss would then ask the same question again, but with variance in the selected words, hoping I wasn’t educated enough to see what he was doing.
Didn’t you record your own copy of the interview? As Glenn wrote in the New York Post in 2008 after ABC edited a mashed-up video ransom note version of Sarah Palin being “interviewed” by Charlie Gibson, always bring your own video camera (or at least a digital audio recorder) to an interview. Just ask the folks who Katie Couric tried to gotcha last year.
And speaking of blasts from the past, Outkick’s Jason Martin writes:
Clay Travis isn’t alt-right in the least. I suggested to Strauss that I felt Donald Trump gave that incredibly small fringe movement a “wink and a gun” because he needed their support, and because he has no principles, merely interests. Correction, he has one interest, and it has five letters in its last name. The last four are “RUMP.”
Clay didn’t vote for Trump, and despite our many disagreements, he and I shared that in common. Never for a second did I consider Trump, and in fact as soon as he was the clear nominee, I officially registered as an Independent and removed the “R” from my name permanently. None of that matters to “journalists” like Ben Strauss, however. I’m alt-right because he and I wouldn’t necessarily vote the same way. I’m convinced most of the people that toss out “alt-right” like it’s a bodily function have no clue what it actually means.
Alt-right – for the media, it’s this decade’s version of calling everyone on the right “neocons,” ironically enough.
Exit quote:
Clay and I gave this man access, we answered his questions, we tried to ensure he had all the information he needed to write an article worthy of his time. He interviewed me, he interviewed Clay’s wife (and asked her some RIDICULOUS, uncomfortable questions about the family now being on the wrong side of history), and he even spoke to Bobby freaking Bones about Clay.
This is the behind the scenes account of how one writer came in not to learn anything, not to be objective, and not to write an intriguing portrait of a controversial public figure, but to try and find a punchline for his bad joke.
After reading the article, the punchline is actually the byline. Go figure.
Just think of Politico as being largely staffed by Democrat operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.
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FOR YOUR DISASTER-PREP GEAR CHEST, a good, strong come-along is a good idea, in case you need to shift debris or move heavy objects.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Need For Missile Defense.
OH, NOW WE GET IT: Norway’s minister of immigration drew comparisons Wednesday between the plight of Europeans suffering from increasingly common terror attacks with the experiences endured by Israel for decades.
“We are experiencing now the fear that [Israel] experienced for decades,” said Sylvi Listhaug in an exclusive interview with Ynet in Oslo. “Many people now understand the situation you live in. We see what is happening in Sweden, in Britain and in France.”
“It’s the new norm,” Listhaug concluded, “for Europeans to impose limits on freedom of speech in order to avoid offending minorities.” Well, at least beheady minorities, anyway.
IT’S COME TO THIS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kneels to White Guilt, Perpetuating Charges of Racism, D.C. McAllister writes.
SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: “The study found that women were more likely to climax if their partners were rich, confident and attractive — while the intensity of their orgasms also depended on how good-looking their man is.”
Plus: “Sexual satisfaction was related to how physically attracted women were to their partner and the breadth of his shoulders.”
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET “DIVERSITY” RIGHT, AND THAT’S BY DESIGN: “The Black student population at Cornell disproportionately represents international or first-generation African or Caribbean students.”
THE 21st CENTURY ISN’T TURNING OUT THE WAY I HAD HOPED: Woman who got an eyeball tattoo may lose her eye, now she’s warning others.
A Canadian woman posted graphic images of her eye leaking purple dye after she says a risky tattoo on her eyeball that may leave her partially blind.
Catt Gallinger, a 24-year-old body modification enthusiast from Ottawa, is trying to warn others after getting a “scleral tattoo,” which consists of injecting ink into the white part of the eyeball.
Gallinger, who has a forked tongue, piercings and tattoos, has undergone painful procedures before, but she wrote on Facebook that immediately after the tattoo was done on Sep. 5, purple dye began streaming down her face, and her eye was swollen shut the next day.
“I took my eyesight for granted and trusted someone I shouldn’t have,” she said in a video posted Monday. “And even if this heals, my eyesight is not going to be back.”
Ayn Rand wrote The Return of the Primitive as a warning, not a how-to guide.
SINGING SONGS AND CARRYING SIGNS, MOSTLY SAY “HOORAY FOR OUR SIDE!” Protesters in Berkeley aren’t sure why they are protesting.
GOVERNMENT IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR THE THINGS WE CHOOSE TO DO TOGETHER: Food Truck Kicked Out of Town for Serving Hurricane Victims Without a Permit.
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ANDREW KLAVAN: Trump is 100 Percent Right About the NFL.
Trump caught them out and exposed them and exposed that they were wrong.
Don’t tell me he shouldn’t have done it. Every day, we hear our news media insult the people and push the leftist narrative. Every night, we hear one comedian after another insult the people and push the leftist narrative. In movie theaters, in pop songs, at award shows, in college classes, the same thing, every day. Donald Trump has the only voice loud and bold enough to override that ceaseless sneering propaganda. Donald Trump, that is, and the people.
I love the NFL. I love football. But I love America infinitely more. If they keep disrespecting our flag, I will never watch them again. Trump is utterly right about this and they are utterly wrong.
Read the whole thing.
Related: If Donald Trump Said Don’t Jump Off a F****** Bridge, Would You Do the Opposite?
Roger Goodell had the chance this past weekend to make the statement that the NFL was an elite institution above mere politics. He chose…poorly.
21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Lesbian Bishop Calls Jesus a Bigot.
WEIRD HOW A BUNCH OF DEMOCRATS PROTESTING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM DOESN’T HURT TRUMP’S POPULARITY: Trump’s Approval Pops to 45%.
SOUTH KOREAN DIPLOMAT: ‘Consequences Would be Devastating’ for World if Regional War Erupts.
Indeed it would be — for all the regional players. And the risks will only grow as Li’l Kim expands and improves his nuclear arsenal. That’s why it’s time for China to step up and take responsibility for its Frankenstein creation.
FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists develop broad-spectrum inhibitors of influenza virus. “A team of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Janssen Research & Development (Janssen) has devised artificial peptide molecules that neutralize a broad range of influenza virus strains. Peptides are short chains of amino acids – like proteins but with smaller, simpler structures. These designed molecules have the potential to be developed into medicines that target influenza, which causes up to 500,000 deaths worldwide each year and costs Americans billions of dollars in sick days and lost productivity. The developed peptides block the infectivity of most circulating strains of group 1 influenza A viruses, including H5N1, an avian flu strain that has caused hundreds of human infections and deaths in Asia, and the H1N1 swine flu strain that caused a global pandemic in 2009-10.”
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