NEWS AND OPINION:
Yes, many voters were taken aback by those news organizations that immediately declared that Joseph R. Biden had suddenly and magically turned into “President-elect Biden.” The change in title was unnerving and dismissive, suggesting that fair play, professional standards and decorum had simply imploded during the 2020 presidential election.
“More or less unnoticed for decades, the media habit of ’calling’ elections — presidential or otherwise — is not only a betrayal of the democratic process, it has become a leading factor in a new form of post-modern fascism in which we are apparently living,” reports Roger Simon, a columnist for The Epoch Times and an Oscar-nominated screenplay writer who knows manufactured drama when he sees it.
“Saturday morning at 11:45 a.m., while President Trump was off playing golf, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, the AP and USA Today, virtually in unison as if operating on some sort of pre-arranged cue, all made the call for Joe Biden with Fox News joining them all of ten minutes later,” Mr. Simon writes.
“It was like Pravda and Izvestia working together for what they assured the Soviet public was their own good. Moments after that, horns were honking with joy and people dancing in the streets from Los Angeles to New York,” he continues.
“Of course, this was nonsense. The election is still on-going, still undecided, and will be for several weeks of legal challenges, many of them justified. What occurred at 11:45 was basically a media psyop — a psychological operation — designed to depress and silence the roughly 71 million who voted for Trump and rally the 70-something million, if they indeed exist, who voted for Biden,” the columnist says.
“The truth is, in a democracy and/or a democratic republic, no media organization has the right to ’call’ an election. Period,” declares Mr. Simon, echoing a similar sentiment recently voiced by Mr. Trump.
PARLER HITS THE RADAR
The decision among some social media companies to censor or edit user posts has prompted a backlash.
“Trump supporters are flocking to alternative social networks to plan election-office protests after Facebook banned groups that attracted hundreds of thousands of members,” reports Business Insider, which cites Parler as an example. Founded in 2018, the conservative alternative to Twitter vows free speech and no censorship and is getting significant notice.
Parler is currently listed “No. 1 in News” among free apps at the Apple.com online store — besting such entities as Zoom, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and other providers, summarized in a colorful graphic.
“It is a picture worth a thousand words. People have seen the consequence of agenda-driven content curation and moderation,” Parler told Inside the Beltway in a statement.
“Parler continues to stand with the people and against techno authoritarianism,” John Matze, CEO of Parler tells Fox Business Network.
OUR BUTTER FIX
Whipped up any homemade banana bread, cookies or bread lately? This title tells all:
“Butter sales are booming as we anxiety-bake our way through the nine circles of hell,” reports Eater.com on political, social and health-related stressors that continue to rattle the nation.
“Butter producers seem to be doing fine, thanks to everyone who is channeling their anxiety into baking. Land O’ Lakes said in a statement that net earnings were way up this year, and that it expects butter sales to reach 275 million to 300 million pounds in 2020, an increase of more than 20% from a normal year,” the news organization says.
“Land O’ Lakes typically stores butter made over the summer, the slowest baking season, for the holidays, but this year Americans have baked right on through the heat, because literally what else were we doing?”
’CAN’T SAVE AMERICA WITHOUT YOU’
President Trump’s campaign has launched an aggressive fundraising effort to support the president’s challenge to the 2020 election results. An outreach for the “Official Election Defense Fund” articulates much of what troubles Mr. Trump’s fans.
“This election is far from over. We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: They don’t want the truth to be exposed,” advised a public notice released Sunday.
“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or any states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” the notice said.
“Legal votes decide who is president, not the media. The American people are entitled to an honest election; that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election,” it noted.
“We can’t save America without you,” said a banner headline.
Several news organizations are now taking the fundraiser outreach to task, citing fine print in the campaign’s online donation page which said half of the donation would go to “federal debt retirement.”
In the meantime, Mr. Biden’s campaign has also launched a fundraising effort to respond to Mr. Trump’s legal challenge, according to multiple news organizations.
“The Biden campaign framed its solicitations as an effort to fundraise to ensure every vote is counted,” The Hill said.
POLL DU JOUR
• 83% of U.S. adults agree that the health of our economy depends on the strength of our democracy; 83% of conservatives, 82% of moderates and 85% of liberals agree.
• 75% overall think media companies should prioritize providing citizens with facts about the election; 71% of conservatives, 74% of moderates and 80% of liberals agree.
• 71% overall think companies should voice opposition to advertising on social media that do not actively combat misinformation; 69% of conservatives, 72% of moderates and 73% of liberals agree.
• 63% overall say corporate leaders should advocate for “a peaceful post-election period even if there’s no clear winner”; 58% of conservatives, 62% of moderates and 68% of liberals agree.
Source: A Just Capital/Harris Poll survey of 2,055 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 20-22 and released Nov. 1.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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