Biased Media

Kimberley Strassel | American Thought Leaders

Published by Papa Giorgio

Who exactly are the “Resistance,” as explored in Kim Strassel’s new book “Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America”?

How are “Trump haters” different from “Trump critics?” How is the Resistance different from past political movements? What are the long-term implications of its activities? And how are the media involved?

And, how can the Trump “impeachment inquiry” be seen as the latest chapter of the Resistance’s efforts?

This is American Thought Leaders??, and I’m Jan Jekielek.

Today we sit down with Kim Strassel, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board and a prominent political commentator. She was the recipient of the Bradley Prize in 2014, and she writes the Journal’s long-running “Potomac Watch” column.

Fox News’ “Impeachment Poll”

Published by Papa Giorgio

I was challenged by a friend when I brought up the weighted aspect by this: “Have you taken any graduate level courses on polling Sean? I have.” So I guess you have to take graduate level courses in statistics to be fooled? I don’t know… I don’t put ANYTHING past these #NeverTrumpers any-longer. But I never say, “have you read over 2,000 books cover-to-cover, have a library of over 5,000 books as well as 3,000 more digitally?” — to make a point become true.

BIZPIC has this about the Fox News Poll:

…The problem is that the poll was heavily biased because it over-sampled Democrats, thereby leading to skewed results.

According to analysis by the New York Post, a poll weighted for party affiliation would’ve concluded that 44.9% of voters favor impeachment, while 44.4% oppose it.

In other words, a less-biased poll would’ve shown that the majority of voters (55.1%) oppose impeachment.

Braun Research conducted the Fox News poll by sampling a pool comprised of:

  • 48% Democrats.
  • 40% Republicans.
  • 12% Independents.

In reality, registered American voters are:

  • 31% Democrat.
  • 29% Republican.
  • 38% independent.

Any poll that oversamples Democrats will lead to a skewed result. This is exactly what Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said this week when he dismissed the Fox News poll as bogus.

“We got to point out that it’s weighted toward Democrats,” Gutfeld said. “It’s 48% Democrats, 40% Republicans, 12% other. Also, it’s being taken at the fever pitch of media coverage about a single topic, so what do you expect?”

Gutfeld underscored: “We have to remind ourselves how many Democrats and how many Republicans are in this poll, and that these polls have been known to be wrong.”…

AMERICAN THINKER continues the breakdown and shows how Rasmussen attempts to correct for such things:

…How did the Fox polling unit come up with this number?

The Fox news polling companies interviewed 1,003 registered voters, ostensibly throughout the length and breadth of the United States.  Many polling companies use either all adult Americans (254 million) or registered voters (158 million in 2016) as their universe for polling.  Obviously, the greater the number of potential people to contact and question, the easier a poll is to complete and to skew a result.  In reality, what matters is who votes in an election.  In 2016, 86% (or 136.6 million) of registered voters cast a vote.  A poll of likely voters would inherently be more reliable but more difficult to achieve.  Currently, only Rasmussen among national polls uses exclusively likely voters and they are among the most reliable.

As the issue of impeachment is overtly political, the political make-up of the respondents in any poll is critical.  In this recent Fox poll, 48% of those polled claimed to be Democrats, 40% Republican, and 12% independent.  However, as Gallup points out in its most recent research, 31% of all Americans identify as Democrats, 29% as Republican and 38% as independent.

Ideally, all polls, as does Rasmussen, should strive to reflect that political affiliation dichotomy or as close as possible, considering the difficulty in finding people willing to be polled and be honest in their responses.

Therefore, the Fox poll, with its political make-up of respondents, is manipulated to come up with a desired result.  The issue isn’t the difference between the number of Democrat and Republican respondents, but the gross undercounting of independents and the massive overcounting of Democrats.

Over the past three months to date, in a variety of polls, an average of nearly 84% of all Democrats favored the impeachment of Donald Trump.  Therefore, when Fox uses 48% Democrat registered voters, the poll immediately, before taking into account any other group, will indicate 41% in favor of impeachment and removal.  Thus, to get to 51%, only 20% of those identifying as Republican or independents in this poll would have to be in favor of impeachment.

However, if Fox had used the actual political breakdown of 32% of Americans identifying as Democrats, then instead of an immediate impact of 41% in the result, it would have been 27%, or 14 percentage points less.

Further, over the past three months, polls have averaged 92% of Republicans and 56% of independents opposed to impeachment and removal.  If the Fox poll sample had been 29% Republican and 39% independent, using these average poll results, the final tabulation would have been 44% instead of 51%.

But there would have been no headlines and breathless anchors on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, and ABC, nor any banner headlines in the Washington Post and New York Times trying to convince the nation that the citizenry is turning on Donald Trump….

 

CNN Exposed Again! (Blue Collar Logic – Project Veritas)

Published by Papa Giorgio

As if it’s not obvious to a lot of us, CNN’s true agenda has been exposed, again. Thanks to Project Veritas for confirming what we all know. Below is a link to the full Project Veritas Video.

PROJECT VERITAS EXPOSES:

  • PART 1: CNN Insider Blows Whistle on Network President Jeff Zucker’s Personal Vendetta Against POTUS
  • Part 2: CNN Leadership and Staffers Reveal True Sentiments; Network Picks Favorites Among Democratic Candidates on Eve of Debate

Impeachment Efforts Harm Intel Community/Whistleblower Laws

Published by Papa Giorgio

Amidst the latest attempt to remove President Trump, Larry discusses the circumstances of the whistleblower’s report to Congress over President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—in what was claimed to be diplomatic pressure to investigate Joe Biden and his son’s business dealings in the country. Larry further delves into all the other failed attempts to unseat a duly elected president.

I have to think this is all choreographed… that the full script was written and the MSM is following it to the “T.” This second “whistle blower” was set to come out at this time and the media was suppose to run with it because they all thought Trump would still be obfuscating the details. EXCEPT, Trump fast-lined the call transcript and complaint to be released…. hence the responses to George Stephanopoulos on his Twitter:

TWITCHY notes Legal Insurrections take down of the latest revelation of a 2nd whistle blower:

LEGAL INSURRECTION continues it’s cogent thinking by noting that the “[w]eaponization of whistleblower laws is yet another breach of norms in an effort to unwind the 2016 election and manipulate the 2020 election.” Continuing LI notes failure after failure of the Left to oust Trump:

Circulating claims of Trump-Russian collusion prior to the 2016 election didn’t work.

Using foreign-supplied fake intelligence, from a British spy who utilized Russian sources, to obtain surveillance of the Trump campaign and transition team didn’t work.

Intimidating Electoral College Electors to change their votes after the election didn’t work.

Having the Director of the FBI lie to, set up and try to entrap the president didn’t work.

Having that same FBI Director leak memos to the media to manufacture grounds for a Special Counsel didn’t work.

Trying to invoke the 25th Amendment to declare the president unable to perform the job didn’t work.

Two years of the Mueller Investigation didn’t work.

Three years of a permanent crisis news cycle meant to paralyze the administration didn’t work.

After all these failures to unwind the 2016 election, Democrats and the mainstream media are trying a new tactic: Create a Star Chamber “impeachment” process fueled by anonymous whistleblowers and selective leaks that is not so much designed to remove the president, though they would if they could, but to manipulate the 2020 election.

The first intelligence community whistleblower is not so much a whistleblower as a politically biased operative (according to the Inspector General) who gathered information from various sources, went to Adam Schiff’s office for guidance, then filed a so-called Whistleblower Complaint that almost certainly was drafted by a team of lawyers. WhistleBlower No. 1, because he or she filed the claim as a whistleblower, is entitled to anonymity, there will not be the type of cross-examination and investigation of the whistleblower’s background and information that was so critical when Democrats rolled out a series of accusers against Brett Kavanaugh.

With Whistleblower No. 1 failing to fulfill the mission, there was a leak to the NY Times of a potential Whistleblower No. 2. That’s how this is going to work, there will be leaks to the media to frame the public narrative just like regarding supposed Russian-collusion.

That potential Whistleblower No. 2 is not actually a whistleblower, he or she is reportedly a witness already interviewed as part of the first Whistleblower Complaint. Whistleblower No. 2 is not blowing the whistle on anything.

[….]

At the same time that evidence is being funneled through whistleblower secrecy, Democrats are intent on shutting Republican’s out of the investigative process by conducting a non-impeachment impeachment investigation……

(Video added by RPT)

…..There has been no formal vote authorizing an impeachment investigation, so Republicans are without procedural mechanisms to fully participate in the process and to use congressional powers to conduct their own investigation.

Expect Schiff and team to leak like sieves, but only the information they gather in secret that they think helps them.

This has all the makings of a congressional Star Chamber of secret “whistleblowers” and Democrat leaks meant to manipulate both the public perception of the need for impeachment and the 2020 election.

And to end, this is a great “Tweet Storm” by Fred Fleitz:

1/ As a former CIA analyst and former NSC official who edited transcripts of POTUS phone calls with foreign leaders, here are my thoughts on the whistleblower complaint which was just released… (Complaint PDF)

2/ This is not an intelligence matter. It is a policy matter and a complaint about differences over policy. Presidential phone calls are not an intelligence concern. The fact that IC officers transcribe these calls does not give the IC IG jusrisdiction over these calls.

3/ It appears that rules restricting access and knowledge of these sensitive calls was breached. This official was not on this call, not on the approved dissem list and should not have been briefed on the call.

4/ The way this complaint was written suggested the author had a lot of help. I know from my work on the House Intel Commitee staff that many whistleblowers go directly to the intel oversight committees. Did this whistleblower first meet with House Intel committee members?

5/ It is therefore important that Congress find out where this complaint came from. What did House and Senate intel committee dem members and staff know about it and when? Did they help orchestrate this complaint?

6/ My view is that this whistleblower complaint is too convenient and too perfect to come from a typical whistleblower. Were other IC officers involved? Where outside groups opposed to the president involved?

7/ This complaint will further damage IC relations with the White House for many years to come because IC officers appear to be politicizing presidential phone calls with foreign officials and their access to the president and his activities in the White House.

8/ Worst of all, this IC officer — and probably others — have blatantly crossed the line into policy. This violates a core responsibility of IC officers is to inform, but not make policy.

9/ This is such a grevious violation of trust between the IC and the White House that it would not surprise me if IC officers are barred from all access to POTUS phone calls with foreign officials.

Katy Tur — Russian Media Propagandist (John Solomon)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Here is another example of the media and the Left doing what they accuse others of. In this case, spreading a statement that is obvious propaganda… like the race card, the media and Democrats use the “Russian Card.” Sean Hannity and John Solomon discuss everything Ukraine in the time allotted for him on the show (10-01-2019). I added the Bill Maher and Katy Tur videos that were mentioned by Solomon.

Here are two of John’s recent articles:

 

Dr. John Eastman Discusses The “Whistleblower”

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry Elder had John Eastman call into the radio show (from vacation) to discuss the “whistleblower” and what I see as the continued propensity to weaponize government to harass and criminalize countering points of views. The latest example of this is the secret change JUST BEFORE the release of this choreographed release of the whistleblower [so-called] to the law regarding it: “Intel Community Secretly Gutted Requirement Of First-Hand Whistleblower Knowledge“.

PAST EXAMPLES:

  • Obama’s Weaponization of Government (FORBES);
  • President Obama Weaponized Government – Phase Two Was Positioned to Monetize Government… (CONSERVATIVE TREE HOUSE);
  • Judicial Watch: New Documents Reveal DOJ, IRS, And FBI Plan To Seek Criminal Charges Of Obama Opponents (JUDICIAL WATCH)

Fred Fleitz (Longtime CIA) Discusses the “Whistleblower”

Published by Papa Giorgio

Mark Levin had Fred Fleitz (WIKI) on his show to discuss the latest issues with the leaker. Insightful discussion.

The story from the beginning has utterly fallen apart BTW:

  • Quid Pro Quo and Cover-Up Allegations Against Trump are Falling Apart (PJ-MEDIA)
  • Mark Levin DEBUNKS insane allegations made by “leftwing kooks” in the media (RIGHT SCOOP)
  • Media Ukraine Conspiracy Theories Shot Down (RPT)
  • Whistelblower Fabrications (RPT)

Media Ukraine Conspiracy Theories Shot Down

Published by Papa Giorgio

I was told by #NeverTrumpers that this soo shocked the DNI (internal watchdog, inspector general’s office) that the whistle-blowers complaint was raised to immediate “dealing with.” I was told this was done by a Trump appointee, Joseph Maguire. In other words, he is unbiased and committed to the truth. Come to find out that,

  • …the DNI general counsel said days later that, after consulting with the DOJ, the matter did not meet the legal definition of an ‘urgent concern,’ and was not subject to mandatory disclosure to Congress… (NEWSBUSTERS)

I asked a friend if the Facebook post he relayed by a friend would change:

  • So your friends FB post has been wrong in almost every point made…. NOW I wonder if this statement (“…The Inspector General who determined that the whistleblower complaint was “credible” and “urgent” is himself not just a Republican but a Trump appointee”…) will be used derisively rather than supportively of the conspiracy theory: “well, the IG is a Trump appointee. What else did you expect!?”

Maybe he was pressured! This story was the latest debunked conspiracy theory, and shows the amount of vitriol towards the President. “Acting director of national intelligence threatened to resign if he couldn’t speak freely before Congress on whistleblower complaint,” the Washington Post headline ran. Also this from MSN

  • The acting director of national intelligence threatened to resign over concerns that the White House might attempt to force him to stonewall Congress when he testifies Thursday about an explosive whistle-blower complaint about the president, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter. (MSN)

PJ-MEDIA notes how the DNI himself debunked the story:

…Yet Maguire denied the report less than an hour after the Post published it. “At no time have I considered resigning my position since assuming this role,” he told Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram. “I have never quit anything in my life and I am not going to start now. I am committed to leading the Intelligence Community to address the diverse and complex threats facing our nation.”

Maguire is set to testify about a whistleblower complaint that the inspector general for the intelligence community said was of “urgent concern.” Controversially, the acting DNI prevented the whistleblower complaint from being released to Congress in a move some experts have condemned as illegal.

Maguire defended his actions in a statement Tuesday. “I want to make clear that I have upheld my responsibility to follow the law every step of the way,” he said. He also praised the whistleblower, adding, “the men and women of the Intelligence Community have a solemn responsibility to do what is right, which includes reporting wrongdoing.”

The Washington Post report seemed to contradict the basic claims against Maguire. If the acting DNI refused to release the whistleblower complaint to congressional committees, why would he threaten to resign in order to be more forthcoming to Congress?

It seems the sources behind the false story may have been attempting to gin up more controversy over the whistleblower complaint to add some legitimacy to the impeachment inquiry…

I was told by Facebook peeps the whistle-blower was in on the information personally and needed “whistle-blower status, protection.” But the problem was, he did not have first-hand knowledge, but heard it from someone. Brit Hume notes this in a Tweet:

The DAILY CALLER notes further:

…The CNN story cited by Hume suggests, “It is hard to see how any of this ends well” but doesn’t mention the whistleblower’s precarious grip on his inside information until the reader is deep within the report.

“The whistleblower didn’t have direct knowledge of the communications, an official briefed on the matter told CNN. Instead, the whistleblower’s concerns came in part from learning information that was not obtained during the course of their work, and those details have played a role in the administration’s determination that the complaint didn’t fit the reporting requirements under the intelligence whistleblower law, the official said.”…

Representative Mark Meadows is noted as joining the fray with this:

…Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina Republican, tweeted that “amazingly Democrats now say the whistleblower complaint is more important” than the transcript of the phone call.

“Folks, the ‘whistleblower’ wasn’t on the call,” Mr. Meadows tweeted. “They think a secondhand account of the call will tell you more than the *actual call*.”… (WASHINGTON TIMES)

After noting the second-hand-hearsay — which I am convinced was dropped on purpose to get the Biden controversy front-n-center. The Trump admin KNOW how the #NeverTrumpers, the Leftist media, and Democrats will react… and the bonus? The Biden’s corruption are now the talk of the town. What did Rep. Matt Gaetz call it? Catfishing! But I digress.

Okay, again… After noting the second-hand-hearsay, the DOJ’s criminal division investigated Trump’s phone call to the Ukrainian president and found nothing wrong (RIGHT SCOOP). In fact, what came out later is the whistle-blower is intimately intwined with an org that pays people to come out against the Trump admin and is represented by Clintonistas… and is themself BIASED against Trump:

  • It was a fact completely omitted from the cascade of Trump impeachment coverage found on ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News. “The Dependent of Justice warned the whistleblower’s information was ‘secondhand’ and that there are indications, quote, ‘of an arguable political bias on the part of the complainant,’” reported CBS chief congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes. (NEWSBUSTERS)
  • Democrat Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on Tuesday based on second-hand information from a confirmed anti-Trump leftist operative of a July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The alleged “whistle-blower” is being represented by a former Schumer and Hillary Clinton operative. (GATEWAY PUNDIT)

I was also told there was criminal QUID PRO QUO. This too was debunked… first by the Wall Street Journal (NATIONAL REVIEW) — which was a cause of derisiveness on a friends Facebook. And later confirmed by BOTH CNN and FOX NEWS!!

What was the best moment however? I was told Trump was the initiator of the topic about corruption and the Biden’s. Bwahahaha… the President of the Ukraine initiated the discussion:

…In the transcript released today President Zelensky brought up Rudy Giuliani and his investigations of the Biden Crime Family with President Trump….. (GATEWAY PUNDIT)

To say Democrats and #NeverTrumpers jumped the gun on this is understated. Where is Mitt Romney on this??? He came out saying how aweful it was? Why is he all of a sudden silent? Behind closed doors the Dems know they effed up. Funny.

Nothing Burger 2.0 (Ukraine) | Hewitt, Hannity, and Levin

Published by Papa Giorgio

These are just some excerpts of guests discussing the Ukraine and the Democrats outrage [nothing burger 2.0] starting with the earliest show (AM) to the latest (PM). I had time yesterday to upload the following (Dr.’s Appointment), I hope to get to Larry Elder tonight.

HUGH HEWITT (+ Rep. Gallagher)

This is why I like listening to Hugh Hewitt. Apparently Nancy Pelosi didn’t start an inquiry into impeachment like the Republicans started one with Bill Clinton. Nothing has changed after Nancy Pelosi’s presser. In other words, we aren’t even one step closer to an impeachment trial or investigation. And representative Gallagher said that they are meeting to prematurely release The whistle-blower complaint, which was already scheduled for the end of the week. So the Washington Post noted that this was not first hand information from said whistle-blower. And the Wall Street journal debunked quid pro quo. In other words the Democrats have bupkis. But now President Trump has a new whipping boy. Which is: Hunter Biden getting $50,000 a month for 5 years for doing nothing but “going into business” with John Kerry’s son and Whitey Bulger’s son.

SEAN HANNITY (+ JOhn Solomon & Gregg Jarrett)

John Solomon and Gregg Jarrett discuss everything Ukraine, the Biden’s, and even some Russia thrown in for good measure — with Sean Hannity.

MARK LEVIN (+ John Solomon)

What a great interview! Have any misunderstanding or feel ignorant about how hypocritical Democrats are? Wonder no more.

To Whistle-Blow Or Not To

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Video Description) Thanks to a “whistleblower,” Joe Biden says attention should be placed on President Trump for “threatening” the Ukraine president for dirt. But…what’s the dirt on what Biden did? Because the media isn’t talking about it. Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, partnered with John Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Hines, and an old roommate Devon Archer to create their own private equity firm, Rosemont Seneca. Obama made VP Biden the point person for Ukraine foreign policy, and before you know it, the company Hunter, Hines, and Archer developed is in a direct partnership with the Ukraine’s largest oil company, Burisma. Smell fishy to you?

Most important article wise comes from PJ-MEDIA… here are some excerpts:

The so-called whistleblower “scandal” that the media is hyping up every which way has Democrats once again falling all over each other to declare another “impeachable offense,” despite having virtually no details about the conversation between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. But, like everything else that’s been thrown at Trump, this appears to be another phony scandal. The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow reported Saturday that the whistleblower complaint “is nothing more than a rumor reported by someone in the intelligence community.” In fact, CNN reported this fact, but buried it in an article:

The whistleblower didn’t have direct knowledge of the communications, an official briefed on the matter told CNN. Instead, the whistleblower’s concerns came in part from learning information that was not obtained during the course of their work, and those details have played a role in the administration’s determination that the complaint didn’t fit the reporting requirements under the intelligence whistleblower law, the official said.

Schow noted, “this is yet another anonymous source giving more context on what another anonymous source told a different outlet, but it still calls the entire story into question.” The original Washington Post story, despite being on the front page, was vague, relying on “two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter” who were “speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.” They alleged that Trump had made a “promise” to a world leader—which, based on what we know right now, is incorrect.

The Post filled out its story with information about a “standoff” between Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire and Congress.

The Intelligence Community Inspector General, Michael Atkinson – who was appointed by Trump – determined the whistleblower complaint to be of “urgent concern,” according to the Post. But Maguire argued he was not required by law to turn the complaint over to congressional Democrats seeking to impeach Trump.

The reason Maguire didn’t turn the complaint over is because of what CNN reported – that the person who made the complaint had no direct knowledge of what was said and was merely reporting a rumor. Why the inspector general determined it “urgent and credible” remains to be seen.

All the reactions to the story since have been based on speculation as to what occurred on the call. Trump is alleged to have pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and offered a quid pro quo… which, according to the Wall Street Journal, there wasn’t:

President Trump in a July phone call repeatedly pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ’s son, urging Volodymyr Zelensky about eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, on a probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

“He told him that he should work with [Mr. Giuliani] on Biden, and that people in Washington wanted to know” whether allegations were true or not, one of the people said. Mr. Trump didn’t mention a provision of foreign aid to Ukraine on the call, said this person, who didn’t believe Mr. Trump offered the Ukrainian president any quid-pro-quo for his cooperation on an investigation…

[….]

So far, all we know is that the whistleblower at the heart of this situation didn’t actually overhear anything. The one thing we do know is that in 2016, Joe Biden successfully pressured then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to ax the country’s top prosecutor, who was investigating his son’s company, by threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees. Biden even bragged about it.

Media Predicts Economic Doom for Trump (Patterns)

Published by Papa Giorgio

With economic pundits predicting disaster over the horizon for the Trump economy, Larry decides to compare the doom and gloom to the months prior to the 1992 presidential election, which propelled Bill Clinton to the presidency. Just what were the pundits saying leading up to that election, and what were they saying directly afterwards? How does this parallel the leadup to 2020? Larry answers all these questions and more. He also gives us a peak into a lucrative career path he decided to pass up, despite his obvious talent.