NEWS AND OPINION:
Media Research Center President Brent Bozell has monitored liberal bias in the news for decades. But now, he’s even surprised at the sheer escalation of bias as the presidential election draws nigh.
“The leftist media are out of control and the American people know it and are furious. These so-called news journalists are doing everything in their power to affect the outcome of the election. In 30 years I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Mr. Bozell, who is troubled by an incident in which a fan of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was assaulted during a protest against the “leftist agenda” at CNN.
It is of note that fans of Sen. Bernard Sanders, organized under the mantra “Occupy CNN,” also rallied against the network earlier this year for not covering Mr. Sanders’ presidential campaign. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson’s backers also demonstrated against the network for the same reason.
“Protesters went to the CNN affiliate in Hollywood to protest, and at least one was assaulted. Enough is enough. We have never done this before, but we are calling on people to organize and publicly protest against their local network news affiliates around the country. The media will never hold themselves accountable, so now it’s up to the people to rise and protest. And if any protester is assaulted again, conservatives have every right to defend themselves appropriately,” says Mr. Bozell.
“This is a real test of the American people. Will they let the elite liberal media focus them only on anti-Trump messages while hiding the Hillary Clinton secret speeches stories?” says Newt Gingrich, a former presidential candidate himself.
CRUZ STAYS STEADY
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump rips Paul Ryan’s lack of support, says ‘shackles have been taken off me’
“This is an election unlike any other. Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president. The policy she is advancing is the continuation of eight years of Barack Obama. I am supporting the Republican nominee because I think Hillary Clinton is an absolute disaster.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, confirming he continues to back Donald Trump, in an interview Tuesday with Gil Lamb Advertising in Mule Shoe, Texas. The former presidential hopeful also praised the beef brisket tacos he had enjoyed at a local restaurant.
AND WHILE THE NATION SQUABBLES
“Russia is looking to expand its military presence and has its eye on Cuba and other Latin American countries. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia has come up with a list of countries where it’s considering opening military bases. They include Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Vietnam,” writes Franco Ordonez, a reporter with McClatchy News who based his report on information from RIA Novosti, Russia’s state-owned news agency.
“The talks are under way,” Mr. Shoigu advised reporters in Moscow.
KEENE INSIGHT
SEE ALSO: Psychologist cautions against ‘armchair analysis’ of presidential candidates
For those seeking insight on the fate of the Second Amendment: The Heritage Foundation hosts an event Tuesday focused on “Shall Not Be Infringed: The New Assaults on Your Second Amendment,” a new book by David A. Keene, former chairman of the American Conservative Union and current opinion editor for The Washington Times.
“Although the Supreme Court ruled the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to ’keep and bear arms,’ various political leaders have promised to challenge this Constitutional freedom, even vowing to make it a litmus test for Supreme Court justice nominees,” the organizers advise. “Gun control advocates continue to insist that the Court was wrong and should reverse this finding, thereby, stripping American gun owners of the Constitutional protection that has thus far made it impossible to ban gun ownership.”
Mr. Keene will address troubling politics and problematic anti-gun proposals. See the event streamed live at noon ET at Heritage.org.
STILL FEELING THE BERN
Former presidential hopeful Sen. Bernard Sanders has a hefty, 464-page book titled “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In” to be published one week after Election Day. His senior advisers Becky Bond and Zack Exley have been busy as well. The pair have written their own account of the campaign trail, titled “Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything,” recounting their experiences recruiting several hundred thousand volunteers.
The authors say their work will “overturn the old playbook that has dominated politics for decades.” The book arrives from Chelsea Green Publishing on Nov. 18.
THE PERILS OF ARMCHAIR ANALYSIS
The 2016 election has been a showcase for a shrill news media, endless spectacle and much “armchair analysis” of the presidential candidates. Dean McKay, a professor of psychology at Fordham University, notes that pundits and the public at large frequently “analyze” presidential candidates.
“Donald Trump in particular has repeatedly been subject to a range of clinical-sounding psychological analyses,” says Mr. McKay, deeming the instant psychoanalysis of public figures both “wrong and unfair,” for three major reasons.
“It’s impossible to know someone’s real motivations without a confidential interview. Armchair analysis stigmatizes mental illness among the general public. The analysis says more about the person conducting it than about the candidate,” the professor explains.
“It is not possible to understand someone’s underlying motives simply from what is said in public. The temptation is great, since the tendency is for people to try and guess what other people are thinking, or what their motives might be,” Mr. McKay continues.
“When armchair analysis is conducted, the one reaching the conclusions can very easily fit their narrative to their own pre-conceived biases. It is all too simple to selectively choose the aspects of behavior that fit the narrative and ignore information that does not. This is a problem that therapists who are well trained must guard against, and they too frequently fall prey to this problem. There is no reason to believe that the public would not be victim to these same biases as well.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 70 percent of “global consumers” say their mobile devices make their lives better.
• 66 percent say face-to-face interactions are being replaced by electronic versions.
• 56 percent “can’t imagine life” without mobile devices.
• 53 percent feel anxious when their mobile devices are not close at hand.
• 47 percent prefer texting to talking.
Source: A Nielsen survey of 30,000 adult consumers in 63 countries conducted March 1-March 23 and released Tuesday.
• Complaints and accolades to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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