U.S. press steps up for Afghan journalists

NEWS AND OPINION:

U.S. journalists are looking out for their counterparts in Afghanistan. Executives from The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal contacted President Biden this week, requesting that he ensure an efficient and secure exit for Afghans who have helped Western news organizations and who now want to leave their nation.

The effort is not a solitary gesture.

National Press Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews, and Angela Greiling Keane, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, are now urging Mr. Biden and his administration to safeguard Afghan citizens who have been allies of U.S. news organizations and could now be in peril.

Many were employed as reporters, translators and drivers.

“We echo the call from top U.S. newspaper executives to the Biden administration to do its utmost to secure a safe passage for Afghans who have helped the world see Afghanistan’s story unfold and who now fear for their security,” Ms. Matthews and Ms. Greiling Keane said in a joint statement.

“Like Afghans who helped the U.S. government in other ways and who are now in danger, those who worked for news organizations deserve nothing less than our full protection,” they said.

According to Ms. Matthews and Ms. Greiling Keane, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented several hundred Afghan journalists — plus their family members — who were seeking friendly territory since the Taliban took power earlier this week. Nearly 200 of these Afghans face either imminent threats or other significant risks, they note.

Fellow members of the press will be watching.

“News organizations will continue to closely monitor the conditions for journalists in Afghanistan and will continue to disclose when the Taliban falls short of its promises,” Ms. Matthews and Ms. Greiling Keane advised.

NOW THERE’S A THOUGHT

“Are the wheels coming off the Biden administration?” asked pollster and political analyst Ron Faucheux, in a column for The Washington Examiner.

“It’s a tricycle,” replies Glenn Reynolds, founder of InstaPundit, a feature of PJ Media.

THE BIDEN SCORECARD

Veteran journalist Mark Knoller, a former CBS News White House correspondent, has long tracked the comings and goings of presidents when they tend to their duties.

He is meticulous, discerning and maintains archives — and the numbers he reveals about those White House residents are very telling. Here is the latest from Mr. Knoller, shared over several tweets in recent days:

By his count, President Biden’s interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos was his ninth interview since taking office. By this time in their presidencies, former President Donald Trump had given 50 interviews and former President Barack Obama 113 interviews.

Mr. Biden has taken 100 flights aboard Marine One so far, and 70 rides on Air Force One. At the same point in their presidencies, Mr. Trump had ridden Marine One 72 times and Air Force One 68 times; Mr. Obama scared 119 rides on Marine One and 84 on Air Force One.

And from another vantage point, Mr. Knoller also tracked Mr. Biden’s weekend whereabouts, revealing that this year, 14 weekends at home in Wilmington, Delaware, nine weekends at Camp David, six weekends at the White House and one weekend in Cornwall, England, for the G-7 meeting.

UH-OH: CLIMATE COMPROMISES SEX

A new Sky News feature has now suggested that the effects of global warming are going to expand into a whole new realm.

“Climate change is going to affect your sex life,” said commentator Becky Cotterill.

Our sex drives drop when it’s hot. In the U.S., one very warm day led to 1,000 fewer births nine months later,” she said, noting that men’s fertility is at issue.

“Sperm counts have stopped over 50% over the past four decades,” Ms. Cotterill explained in the segment, advising that some scientists believe “most men” will be infertile by 2045.

There are other matters, though.

“Some people can’t handle the heat. They are not going to want to be touched. They are not going to want to be bothered. What does that affect? Sex,” noted Jimanekia Eborn, a sex educator.

“Climate activists, including the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists, warn about overpopulation — but they warn that climate change will make humans extinct!? It sounds like if we allow the alleged climate emergency to run its course, it will cause human extinction and we can solve both issues at once,” comments Marc Morano, founder of Climate Depot, an online source which tracks the trends of climate alarmism.

FOXIFIED

Some programming news of note: Fox News Channel host Greg Gutfeld has outperformed his rivals in the 11 p.m. Eastern time slot — both those on broadcast and cable television.

This week, “Gutfeld!” averaged 2.1 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

And here is who Mr. Gutfeld has bested: “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” MSNBC’s “11th Hour with Brian Williams” and “Nightline” from ABC News.

POLL DU JOUR

• 63% of U.S. adults say the war in Iraq “was not worth fighting”; 53% of Republicans, 66% of independents and 70% of Democrats agree.

• 62% say the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting; 57% of Republicans, 63% of independents and 67% of Democrats agree.

• 51% of U.S. adults disapprove of the way President Biden handles foreign policy; 84% of Republicans, 54% of independents and 22% of Democrats agree.

• 46% disapprove of how he deals with national security; 84% of Republicans, 51% of independents and 13% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: An AP/NORC poll of 1,729 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 12-16.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.