ESCHEW ALL EPISTEMOLOGICAL STRUCTURES OF COCKSUREISM: Does Anyone Think Kamala Is Going to Win Anymore?

The obvious disclaimer about how close this election is and not to take anything for granted aside, does anyone think Kamala Harris is on the verge of winning this election? Like, legitimately? In the past few weeks, her lead in the RealClearPolitics averages has disappeared, and Trump now has the lead in the national average.

Sure, the polls could be wrong like they were in 2022, but just look at the Harris-Walz campaign lately. They’re enlisting celebrities to handle her final pitch and duping her supporters into thinking they’re about to see a Beyoncé concert to boost attendance at her rallies.

And of course, even the campaign rhetoric has become increasingly desperate and unhinged.

QED: Dems’ Closing Pitch to Young Men: Stop Being Fascist Oppressors and Vote Kamala.

It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see if it pays off.

The Obamas certainly seem to have a particular message that they want to vent in the final days of the campaign. Barack Obama scolded black men for being misogynist in their lack of enthusiasm for Kamala Harris two weeks ago. This weekend, Michelle Obama scolded women for allowing themselves to be oppressed by their MAGA menfolk. The closing pitch from both Harris surrogates puts younger men squarely in the role of villain.

Doesn’t that seem a little risky, considering the circumstances?

The good news is that this message will resonate in one key demo: the Womens Studies majors subset of college graduates. The bad news is that the young-men demo is a lot larger. And the really bad news is that Kamala already had a lock on the Womens Studies majors.

Exit quote: “I’ll be doggoned if I can figure out to whom this appeals, other than fellow tone-deaf progressives. And again, they’re already on board. It’s as if Democrats want to lose young men for a generation. Perhaps they do, and that is indeed a bold strategy, Cotton.”

C’mon — the Dems have carefully wargamed this through, and found the way to keep young men onboard: Tim Walz and AOC to play football video game on Twitch in appeal to young men.

Vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez planned to stream themselves playing an American football video game against each other on Sunday as the two Democrats continued their party’s efforts to secure votes from young men just nine days before the White House election.

Walz and Ocasio-Cortez were scheduled to face each other on Twitch platform at 3pm ET in the latest edition of the Madden game after a recent NBC News survey found the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris had a lead of two percentage points over Donald Trump with young male registered voters.

Despite the edge, Democrats have polled better among the demographic in previous election cycles, creating concern among the party.

And playing computer football — while actual NFL games are on TV — will do the trick? But why would AOC be promoting the NFL, given its enormous carbon footprint? That doesn’t seem very Green Nude Eel-y to me. (Unless, heaven forefend, that was all simply a pose to attract as much media attention during her “new socialist ‘it girl'” heyday in 2019. Nahh, couldn’t be.)

FOLLOW THE “SCIENCE:” Discrimination may cause gut inflammation, digestive woes, study says.

THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Worst News Outlet of the Week — A Look Back at the Week in Dysfunctional News.

 The Contenders:

NEWSWEEK – Jumping out of the gate was the news magazine with consistent fractured approaches to Donald Trump’s foray into the fast food business (He didn’t work a full shift!) as if they felt he was actually an employee (He didn’t wear a hairnet!). They had over a dozen pieces on this visit alone, and more regarding the E. Coli outbreak. One post was taken down after they suggested that the store where Trump was had been involved. One report worked to debunk an image put out on Truth Social showing Trump as a Pittsburgh Steeler.

CBS – “60 Minutes” finally came out with a comment about the editing scandal of the Kamala Harris interview. They managed to say Trump’s comments on it were false while admitting he was correct. Norah O’Donnell decided to toss any pretense of objectivity, repeatedly covering the campaigns with glowing praise of Harris and critical commentary about Trump. Then she was raving from Kamala’s Houston rally.

CNN – While promoting any garbage story that qualified as an October Surprise hit on Trump, at the same time, they would shut down an attempt to bring up Doug Emhoff’s issues with women. The network pushed a false claim that new abortion laws have increased infant mortality. Bonus points: Jake Tapper being oddly focused on Arnold Palmer’s manhood and repeatedly bringing up the topic to Speaker Mike Johnson.

Click over to see the winner, who is not one of the above.

OLD AND BUSTED: Kamala Harris Mocks Audience Members for Proclaiming ‘Jesus Is Lord,’ Says ‘You’re at the Wrong Rally.’

The New Hotness?

BREAKING: Kamala Harris unveils a new accent at a black Philadelphia church pic.twitter.com/HFFKNnL5Tt

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 27, 2024

Kamala, born in Oakland and raised in Montreal is dusting off Hillary’s circa 2007 “don’t feel no ways tired” faux-southern drawl to pander. Flashback to a classic Hot Air “Vent” clip from back then featuring Bryan Preston and Michelle Malkin:

KEEP ROCKIN’! NYT: Daughter of LA Times Owner Nixed Paper’s Endorsement of Kamala Because She Wasn’t Sufficiently Anti-Zionist.

Thousands of readers canceled subscriptions. Three members of the editorial board resigned. Nearly 200 staff members signed an open letter to management demanding an explanation, complaining that the decision this close to the election had undermined the news organization’s trust with readers. The Times’s News Guild, the newsroom’s union, lodged a protest. In social media posts and subsequent interviews with his own news organization, Dr. Soon-Shiong framed the choice as an attempt at neutrality.

But in a statement on Saturday that was swiftly challenged by the paper, his daughter, Nika Soon-Shiong, 31, a progressive political activist who has frequently been accused of trying to meddle in the paper’s news coverage, said the decision was motivated by Ms. Harris’s continued support for Israel in its war in Gaza.

“Our family made the joint decision not to endorse a Presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I have been involved in the process,” Ms. Soon-Shiong, who has no formal role at the paper, said in a statement to The New York Times. “As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children.”

In a statement, Dr. Soon-Shiong said the daughter did not speak for the paper.

“Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do,” the owner said, according to a spokeswoman. “She does not have any role at The L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times.”

The editor of editorials, who was among those who have resigned, said she was taken aback by the daughter’s assertion.

“If that was the reason that Dr. Soon-Shiong blocked an endorsement of Kamala Harris, it was not communicated to me or the editorial writers,” Mariel Garza, who resigned on Tuesday, said in a statement. “If the family’s goal was to ‘repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,’ remaining silent did not accomplish that.”

Over the past six years, writers and editors have increasingly chafed at interference by Dr. Soon-Shiong, 72, and his family in the newsroom, where owners are generally regarded less as proprietors with the right to impose their personal views than as guardians of a public trust.

I assume there’s more than a little, “This means you too, Sulzberger” in that last paragraph, given the numerous collective temper tantrums from the Gray Lady’s young coddled staffers in recent years.

Speaking of media temper tantrums, ever since Glenn started it, we’ve been using the “Just think of the media as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense” tag for years now. And rather helpfully, the past week’s meltdowns at the L.A. Times and WaPo have really driven that point home: Barred From Endorsing Kamala Harris, Journalists Freak Out and Quit Their Jobs.

(Classical reference in headline.)

UPDATE: At the Huffington Post: Newspapers: No Endorsement Is Absolutely An Endorsement. By not endorsing a candidate, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times have chosen Donald Trump.

Indeed, and Trump should act accordingly in his stump speeches this week.

LIMITED TIME DEAL: ALORAIR Crawl Space Dehumidifiers. #CommissionEarned

CONSEQUENCES: Citing danger, ‘egregious’ damage, Pomona suspends 10 anti-Israel students for building takeover.

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: Indiana U med students start free clinic focused on ‘LGBTQ+ competent’ health care, plan to provide ‘hormone therapy.’

ELECTION STRATEGY STEP ONE: DITCH ISRAEL TO COURT MUSLIM VOTERS IN MICHIGAN. STEP TWO, ER . . . Trump Endorsed by Arab Americans While Campaigning in Michigan. “If you’re in the Harris camp, that’s gotta hurt. Polls show they can’t afford to lose these voters but it looks like it’s too late to turn things around. Some will vote for Stein, some will stay home and there really are some who are moving toward Trump.”

ANN ALTHOUSE: David French writes about courage, Donald Trump demonstrates it. “I am reminded of Elon Musk’s ‘There’s no truer test than courage under fire.'”

LIMITED TIME DEAL: Lasko Oscillating Digital Ceramic Tower Heater. #CommissionEarned

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: White House Report Card: Biden’s checked out, Harris in panic.

POST-COVID, THOSE WHITE COATS AND STETHOSCOPES NO LONGER STAND FOR TRUSTWORTHINESS TO MANY VOTERS:

This is the Kamala campaign in a nutshell.

She brought up all these doctors to say how much they love and support abortion.

Someone in the crowd had a medical emergency and called for medics.

Not one of the abortion doctors helped them.

Spot on.

pic.twitter.com/LlcMgdJXma

— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) October 26, 2024

ROLLING BACK THE HYSTERIA? Eric Adams says Donald Trump is not a fascist, defending the Republican again: The New York City mayor is setting himself apart from fellow Democrats as Donald Trump prepares to rally in deep-blue Manhattan.

HAHA: WATCH: Bill Clinton Says Harris is ‘Extremely Vulnerable’ While Stumping for VP.

ARNOLD KLING: Why Are We So Badly Governed? “Government and non-profits do not select for managers with the ability to deliver results. They select for people who are good at playing the game of status and power within an organization.”

Related:

Bingo pic.twitter.com/cEQg9IpL1M

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2024

DON SURBER: Endorse Trump to save your newspaper.

As a retired newspaper editorial writer, I offer a little advice to newspaper editorial writers in deep red states: endorse Trump. It will be fun. It will be daring. It will impress former readers who finally agree with the local newspaper.

The experience also will be educational as the writer struggles to find reasons to support the president. The writer might actually discover Russiagate really was a phony scandal, Obama really did have the FBI spy on him, and Jesse Jackson really did give The Donald two Rainbow Coalition awards back in the day.

We are told — by newspaper writers — that newspapers are vital to democracy but they do not act that way.

Indeed.

IT’S NOT EXACTLY A VICTORY LAP, BUT KINDA: Mark Judge: The end of the Washington Post. “The Washington Post is collapsing. Once one of America’s great media institutions, the paper lost $100 million last year and has shed 500,000 subscribers. Recent reports reveal that Post owner Jeff Bezos is going to be more hands-on to try and save the paper. Yet trying to get employees of the Post to do their jobs is like trying to get dogs to play baseball. Dogs just aren’t interested in baseball, and the breed of journalist now at the Post is just not interested in journalism.”

I THINK I SAW THAT TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE:  Japanese village struggling with low population creates life-sized dolls to mimic feeling of bustling society.

WHAT DID COMMUNISTS USE BEFORE CANDLES? ELECTRICITY!

Cuba went from grand to slumming, to raffish, to faded, to distressed, to shabby, to squalid, to pitiful without ever once passing Communist.https://t.co/8YItFTHbik

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) October 25, 2024

HE’S NOT WRONG (AND HAS SCANT REASON TO INDULGE THEIR DELUSIONS):  Mayor Adams refutes Kamala Harris, says Trump is not a fascist as he urges Dems to ‘dial down the temperature’.

THE DEMS HAVE TAKEN HIM LESS SERIOUSLY SINCE HE RECOVERED FROM THE STROKE:  Fetterman calls Trump’s support in Pennsylvania ‘astonishing’: ‘You can see the intensity’.

THEY DON’T USE ACRONYMS TO INCREASE CLARITY:  The cult of VUCA and the New World Disorder.

IF A STUPID JANE FONDA MOVIE HADN’T SCARED PEOPLE [POOP]LESS WE’D ALL BE USING NUCLEAR POWER AND ‘GREENHOUSE GASSES’ WOULD BE IRRELEVANT:  The huge gulf in climate scaremongering.

HOW LONG WILL WE TOLERATE THIS?  Here Are States Where The Biden-Harris Admin Blocked Efforts To Ensure Only Citizens Vote In Elections.