CONGRESS VOTES TO DISSOLVE THE PEOPLE, ELECT ANOTHER:
Imagine being a sitting Senator and saying you’re being “bullied”
bc voters are telling you how they want you to vote. Maybe you should listen??? https://t.co/5dnxNHOvoV— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 11, 2024
Who do they represent, anyway?
THE CRITICAL DRINKER: Enough with the Star Wars Announcements! (Video.)
SPIRIT AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM FLORIDA HIT BY GUNFIRE WHILE TRYING TO LAND IN HAITI:
A Spirit Airlines flight out of Florida was struck by gunfire on Monday while making a landing in Port-au-Prince in Haiti on Monday.
A spokesperson for the airline told Fox News Digital Spirit flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted to Santiago, Dominican Republic, where it landed safely after being hit by gunfire.
After arriving in the Dominican Republic, an inspection found evidence of damage to the aircraft that was consistent with gunfire.
Conan O’Brien assures me that this story is the proverbial “fake news:”
THEY TOLD ME TRUMP WOULD USHER IN A NEW ERA OF RACIAL VIOLENCE, AND THEY WERE RIGHT! White Harris Supporter Facing Potential Hate Crime Charge After Punching Minority Trump Supporter.
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Jimmy Kimmel Ratings Soar After Debuting New Segment Where He Stands There All Sad And Cries Like A Wuss.
This is likely straight-up reportage, based on the news from last week: MSNBC Celebrates Beating CNN in Election Night Ratings (Guess Why So Many Were Watching).
STEPHEN MILLER: Kamala Harris ran the Fyre Festival of campaigns.
As it turns out, not all of those celebrity “activists” appeared with Kamala Harris because they believed in her or were doing their civic duty by getting engaged. They charged fees — and some were astronomical. Harris made elaborate promises to her crowds about celebrity performances. Crowds were brought in with the promise of seeing Beyoncé perform, only to leave disappointed. It was all a financial ruse, much like the infamous Fyre Festival of 2017. For the uninitiated, Fyre Festival was sold as a high-end island music festival and was promoted on Instagram by celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. Attendees were promised luxurious accommodations, airline transportation to and from the island and expensive food and alcohol. What followed, however, was mass confusion, unfulfilled promises, stranded and hungry people and vendors left unpaid. The lead promoter went to prison on fraud charges.
As it turns out, the Harris campaign wasn’t run much differently. As reported in the Washington Examiner, the Harris campaign spent upwards of six figures to build a custom set for her appearance on the Call Me Daddy podcast, which only netted about 800,000 downloads. Meanwhile, Donald Trump appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast — and his interview has got more than 47 million views on YouTube.
There were seven swing-state concerts that involved high-priced performers — Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Jon Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin and more — who seemingly ended up costing the Harris campaign more than $20 million on event production alone, and reportedly even more on paying the celebrities to appear. Even Oprah Winfrey charged the campaign $1 million to show up. The campaign went so far into debt that the campaign was reportedly forced to scrap Canadian Nineties indie-pop singer Alanis Morissette to save money. The pop concert campaign strategy is said to have been the brainchild of former Obama advisors on the campaign.
You can do rock concerts as a campaign strategy when your candidate has rock star chops, of the level that (the composite character of) Barack Obama had on the stump during his 2008 campaign. But Kamala’s campaign was a textbook example of what happens when a bunch of Obama advisors go to work for a candidate who isn’t him and attempt to run the same playbook.
Obama also benefited from a very different news cycle: until the massive subprime mortgage meltdown tanked the stock market on September 29, 2008, the economy wasn’t an ongoing horror story in the news; inflation was under control, unemployment was low in the first half of the year, and on the surface, the stock market was performing relatively well (until it wasn’t). A recurring headline in the summer of 2008 at Instapundit was “Dude, where’s my recession?” It eventually arrived — and how — but until it did, Obama campaigned in a much more forgiving environment among potential voters, before Milton Friedman wasn’t running the show anymore, to only slightly paraphrase the unintentional warning by Joe Biden in 2019 on what he was about to unleash on the unsuspecting American middle class.
READER FAVORITE: Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer for Cooking. #CommissionEarned
BLUEANON BLAME GAME! ‘Scapegoat’ George Clooney to ‘Step Back from Politics.’
“George Clooney feels he is being used as a ‘scapegoat’ in the furious blame game over who could have cost Kamala Harris the election – and will now take a step back from politics,” reports the Daily Mail.
Clooney “threw his support behind Harris after penning a blistering op-ed on why Joe Biden would cost the Democrats the win if he didn’t abandon his campaign,” the report continues, adding, “but it still wasn’t enough to prevent a historic victory for Donald Trump.”
“Clooney has since been criticized by Democrats for his influence during the election, with some claiming Harris’ loss was his fault.”
To be fair, it could have been far worse, according to former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau: Biden’s internal polling had Trump winning 400 electoral votes, ex-Obama official claims: ‘Catastrophic mistake.’
To be fair, Ed Morrissey files Favreau’s statement as “Too Fun to Check.” “[C]olor me very skeptical on this claim, at least until Favreau produces the data. Team Kamala has begun spinning like a top to blame Biden for the loss in order to preserve her potential as a candidate down the road, and this looks like a political myth in the making. ”
Meanwhile, Variety, when not being obsessed with getting Ezra Miller’s pronouns correct, is big mad at everyone in flyover country! Stop Blaming ‘Celebrity Endorsements’ for Kamala Harris’ Loss: We Need to Hear From Artists Now More Than Ever.
In the end, it’s not just about newbie registrations or political conversions — it’s about inspiration for the already committed, too, and salve. Those who already knew who they were going to vote for don’t cherish the memory of hearing Isbell sing “Hope the High Road,” Springsteen do “Land of Hope and Dreams” or Gaga perform “God Bless America” any less for the electoral loss. And in the wake of the national defeat, there’s a sense of feeling less alone and ready to move forward even in some of the tweets that have gone out. Watching Eilish dedicate “Your Power” to disheartened women the night after the election is re-heartening. Even having Bette Midler tweet out a lengthy, trenchant H.L. Mencken quote — basically, as gallows humor — can feel a little healing, even if it’s a big Hollywood celebrity and not your personal BFF sending it through.
Whether it has any effect or not, everyone has to answer the question for themslves, if not their children: “What did you do in the war, daddy?” Imagine feeling — as Bruce Springsteen did — that “Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime,” and then stifling that because of what the New York Post or the twits on Elon Musk’s platform might write.
I agree! In fact, going forward, the left should take inspiration from this 2016 Onion headline:
NEWS YOU CAN USE: The Thinking Man’s Defensive Gun.
OH, THERE WAS A LOT MORE FAIL THAN JUST THAT: James Carville says Kamala Harris’ failed campaign could be reduced to Sunny Hostin’s question on ‘The View.’
READER FAVORITE: Crest 3D Whitestrips, Professional Effects. #CommissionEarned
WHO’D HAVE GUESSED? How to lose: Parents don’t want kids to see blowjobs in library books.
SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB: TikTok astrologers are convinced this election isn’t over.
ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Why wet dogs shake so much.
SEMAFOR: The old media grapples with its new limits.
When Semafor asked what new CEO Mark Thompson thought the election’s results said about the reach and impact of legacy news media, a CNN spokesperson pointed Semafor to several memos the network chief sent out over the last year. In them, Thompson said that “to succeed, we must abandon our preconceptions of the limits of what CNN can be and follow the audience to where they are now and where they will be in the years to come. We will still stand for the same things — video-led breaking news, delivered as it happens with honesty and insight — but with greater flexibility about the how and multiple new forms of monetization to complement existing revenues.” The network’s position is that legacy media will die if it doesn’t transform to meet these audiences.
It isn’t just a problem of reach or distribution. To some media executives, it’s a sign that the quality of news offered to Americans is not satisfying them, a view that Axios founder Jim VandeHei described as “gut-check time for traditional media.”
“The verdict is not debatable: Half the country thinks traditional media is biased and often useless,” he said. “They feel reporters treat Republicans like a crime beat and Democrats like friends in need. I don’t think this is usually the case, but it happens enough to give critics pause.”
It sure does — note that this Semafor column shares a byline between Maxi Tani – and former(?) Journolister Dave Weigel.
Also, note that old media is also grappling with how to break the Mobius Loop it’s trapped itself in for the past twenty years:
I KNOW SOME WOMEN WHO SWEAR BY IT: More women seek testosterone therapy, prompted by influencers, doctors say.
ICYMI: YOU CAN’T BE WOKE AND DO SCIENCE: Scientific American Editor-In-Chief Has Spectacular Post-Election Social Media Meltdown: Subsequently, Laura Helmuth disavowed her screed and vitriol. Unfortunately, it is a sign that too many scientists would rather offer elitist insults then address reasonable concerns and different ideas.
UPDATE (From Ed): You can’t be woke and do tech, either:
Wired was a fun, libertarian-oriented tech magazine when Louis Rossetto created it in the go-go ’90s. But for the last 25 years, it’s been just another zombie leftist Condé Nast rag.
THE GOOD NEWS KEEPS PILING UP: FBI brass ‘stunned’ and ‘shell-shocked’ over Trump reelection.
The Washington Times learned through several anonymous bureau sources that senior agency executives were “stunned” and “shell-shocked” by Mr. Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“You know the fit test? How they let the standards slack on the fit test?” said the first FBI source, referring to the agency’s physical fitness requirements. “Everyone’s going to have a real problem when they’re running for the door.”
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and Deputy Director Paul Abbate have little chance of remaining at the bureau by the time Mr. Trump is inaugurated, sources say.
Please, stop — I’m not allowed to vote for him again.
‘MANAGING STRESS DURING CHANGE:’ Biden-Harris State Department Holds Therapy Session After Trump Win.
The Biden-Harris State Department organized an in-house therapy session for employees early Friday following Donald Trump’s election victory, four sources with knowledge of the meeting told the Washington Free Beacon.
“Managing stress during change,” read an internal State Department email sent across the agency that encouraged employees to attend a one-hour session in which they could discuss their feelings about Tuesday’s election results. The department’s Employee Consultation Services in the Bureau of Medical Services hosted the session, according to a copy of the email notice described by sources to the Free Beacon.
“Change is a constant in our lives, but it can often bring about stress and uncertainty,” the email said. “Join us for an insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times. This session will provide tips and practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining your well being.”
The session was led by a licensed clinical provider. A second one is scheduled for Nov. 13, according to the email notice.
The State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which oversees American diplomacy in the war-torn Middle East, also held a group discussion Friday with assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf and acting undersecretary for political affairs John Bass, according to three sources briefed on the matter.
One source described the meeting as a “cry session” over Trump’s victory, which is likely to usher in wholesale change at Foggy Bottom. Officials in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs have been working for months to sanction the Jewish government and withhold critical arms shipments, alleging Israel is not doing enough to provide humanitarian aid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. They are said to have discussed the difficulty of Trump’s victory and urged employees to share their feelings in private settings.
“For four years, within the rank and file, there has been an over emphasis on people’s feelings, often with a college campus-like fervor, rather than the work of advancing America’s interests,” one U.S. official with knowledge of the meetings told the Free Beacon.
“This meeting was hopefully the last gasp of that,” the source said, adding that there is “lots to unf—k” at the State Department after four years of the Biden-Harris administration.
If the State Department is having a therapy session after a presidential election, there sure is.
NOT THEIR BEST WORK: Apple botched the Apple Intelligence launch, but its long-term strategy is sound.
TRUMP OFFERS ELISE STEFANIK U.N. AMBASSADORSHIP:
President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly offered Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) the position of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”
Stefanik, who is the chair of the House Republican Conference, made noise earlier this year when her intense questioning during hearings on anti-Semitism on college campuses forced two Ivy League presidents to resign their posts.
As Roger Kimball wrote last December: The disgraceful, ducking, diving, dodging college presidents.
It was a clarifying moment, wasn’t it? The presidents of MIT, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania testifying for the House Education Committee about the wave of rabid antisemitism on their campuses. Representative Elise Stefanik of New York asked the same question of UPenn’s Liz Magill, MIT’s Sally Kornbluth and Harvard’s Claudine Gay. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your campus’s rule of conduct, yes or no? That was the question.
You might think it was a pretty simple question. Stefanik, exhibiting a mixture of incredulity and barely contained rage, stressed: “This should be be the easiest question to answer,” as one president after the next emitted a pained I-can’t-believe-this-unenlightened-pol-is-asking-me-me-the-president-of-Harvard/MIT/Penn-this-stupid-question.” Each in turn reverted to a script they must have worked out with their handlers/lawyers. “It all depends on the context.”
“Context.” It was the weasel word of the moment. We’re all champions of free speech, don’t you know, so we wouldn’t dream of intruding upon our flock’s exercise of that sacrosanct right in pursuit of their dream of self-congratulatory moral perfection — unless, of course, that dream involves some prohibited attitude, criticizing St. Anthony Fauci, for example, or St. George Floyd, or, heaven forfend, supporting Donald Trump or expressing skepticism about the 2020 election or January 6. Then, of course, it’s open-season on “free expression.”
I almost felt sorry for those three women. Almost. There they were, emanating the self-righteous demeanor they had perfected over years, and, bang, an angry congresswoman exploded that cheap facade in minutes. The upshot was not obvious to them immediately. But the world’s outrage at those moral pygmies instantly washed over the PR offices of those obscenely rich bastions of self-entitlement. “Uh, oh: the girls really stepped in it this time.” That was the universal reaction.
Back in January, I wrote Mitchell and Webb should update their “Are we the baddies?” sketch, with the other Nazi replying, “Well Fritz, to be honest, it depends on the context.”
I’m looking forward to Stefanik generating similar results from an even more wretched hive of scum and villainy starting next year.
THE EV BUBBLE CONTINUES TO DEFLATE: Toyota USA Chief: Hey, About Those IMPOSSIBLE EV Mandates… “I have not seen a forecast by anyone… government or private, anywhere that has told us that that number is achievable. At this point, it looks impossible.”
SLEEP IS IMPORTANT: Successful aging starts with a good night’s sleep, study suggests.
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