Tag Archives: CNN

national news, political news

Once is enough for this clown

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Kamala Harris has accepted CNN’s invitation to participate in a second presidential debate with Donald J. Trump.

Trump, though, said he isn’t going to do it. Once is enough, he reportedly said. You know what? I actually agree with the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. Americans do not need to know any more about this former POTUS, the serial liar, the ex-philanderer in chief.

We know that Trump is a fraudulent numbskull. We know he’s been convicted of 34 felony counts, that he stands indicted on more criminal counts. He’s been impeached twice already by the House of Representatives.

He has admitted to grabbing women by their genitals because he’s “famous” and can get away with it.

Vice President Harris delivered an old-fashioned whoopin’ to Trump in their earlier encounter. What more can he do to alienate voters who already fear the possibility that he could return to power?

I am one American patriot who doesn’t need a single reason to hear another word from this loser.

Americans used to insist that our candidates for president embodied the best in those who comprise this great nation. Donald Trump embodies the worst in us.

I have heard enough from this guy’s overfed yapper.

national news, political news

Walz flubs simple test

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CNN anchor Dana Bash posed a simple yes-or-no question to Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz.

It went like this: You said you carried a weapon in war, but then we learned you did not. Did you misspeak?

Walz didn’t answer the question. Instead, he walked us through his 24-year career in the Army National Guard, expressed his pride in his service and said we shouldn’t denigrate any service person’s military record.

Bash asked him a second time: Did you misspeak?

And again, Walz didn’t answer the question, saying something about how voters “know about my record.”

Republicans have made a bit of noise about the Minnesota governor embellishing his service record. For me, it’s not a huge deal. I accept that he is proud of his service to the country and that he retired as a senior non-commissioned officer; that, too, has been a talking point the GOP has sought to use against Walz.

Bash’s interview with Walz and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was enlightening, to be sure. My own thought is that they both handled themselves coolly and with poise.

I just wish Gov. Walz would have spoken directly to the direct question that Dana Bash posed. I guess I can answer it for him.

Yeah … he misspoke!

media news, national news

Harris, Walz seek to clear the air

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Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic Party presidential ticket, have been criticized unfairly because they haven’t been interviewed extensively by the national media.

Oh, my ….

Republicans have seized on this as a campaign talking point, suggesting that Harris and Walz are too afraid to field “tough questions” from the media on their various policy positions.

They will be put to the test Thursday when they sit with CNN anchor Dana Bash.

This is a bit of a gamble for Harris and Walz. Why? Because Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, their GOP foes, are going to allege — and you can take this to the bank — that they were given softball questions. Trump plays that joker card all the time. Vance, the loyal VP nominee, no doubt will buy into that specious notion.

I continue to hold Harris and Walz in the highest esteem. They have energized their Democratic Party. Harris’s sudden and dramatic emergence as the frontrunner after President Biden ended his candidacy has been a sight to behold.

If I were to place a wager on why the delay, I would suggest that Harris and Walz needed some time to hone their policy positions before facing the national media. Harris only has been running for president for a few weeks and Walz, well, came out of virtual nowhere to emerge as her VP running mate.

Will Bash challenge Harris and Walz if they lie to us? You can bet your oldest child that she will.

I long have thought of Dana Bash as a journalism pro. She is there to seek the truth. Whether the candidates deliver the whole truth likely will be determined by the bias of those Americans who will watch … and listen.

military news

If only a good guy could emerge

Before we get too far down the road in wishing for a different outcome in that brief rebellion we witnessed in Russia, it’s good to put a couple of aspects in proper perspective.

One is that the alternative to Russian strongman/goon/tyrant Vladimir Putin was not a good one.

The commander of the Wagner military group of mercenaries is one bad dude. Yevgeny Prigozhin had led a march to about 125 miles south of Moscow before he called the whole thing off. Putin called him a traitor and vowed maximum revenge.

Then Prigozhin high-tailed it to Belarus after that country’s president brokered some sort of stand-down. Putin said Prigozhin wouldn’t face punishment after all.

That’s all the bad news. The good news is that there appear to be major cracks appearing in Putin’s ring of protection in the Kremlin, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“I suspect that this is a moving picture and we haven’t seen the last act yet. But we can say this,” Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “First of all, what we have seen is extraordinary. And I think you have seen cracks emerge that weren’t there before: first in having Prigozhin raise front and center — questioning the very premises of the Russian aggression against Ukraine to begin with — the argument that somehow Ukraine or NATO posed a threat to Russia, and a direct challenge to Putin himself.”

Prigozhin’s forces have been fighting alongside Russians seeking to overthrow the Ukrainian government … and have been getting their asses kicked by Ukrainian forces. The Wagner leader is angry over the incompetence being shown by Putin and his military high command, which is why — apparently — he sought to toss Putin out via a military coup.

If it’s true that Vladimir Putin’s regime is showing signs of weakness, then it appears incumbent on those who want him removed to ensure that an actual democrat emerges to take the reins of power in the Kremlin.

Yevgeny Prigozhin is nothing of the sort.

Still, what we witnessed for about 48 hours was a remarkable attempt to unseat a wholly evil tyrant who should stand trial as the war criminal he has proven himself to be.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

We are entitled to tune ‘that man’ out?

Anderson Cooper said the following, in part, the other day after the immediate past POTUS appeared on his network to spread more lies and defame more people:

“You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again,” Cooper said. “But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away? If we all only listen to those we agree with, it may actually do the opposite. If lies are allowed to go unchecked as imperfect as our ability to check them is on a stage in real time, those lies continue, and those lies spread. If you’re angry or upset, I understand, but you have the power to do something about it. You can actually get involved. You can make a difference, whatever side of the aisle you’re on. After last night, none of us can say I didn’t know what’s out there. I didn’t know what’s coming. We asked Republican Senators for their thoughts about last night. Some preferred not to say anything. Others did.”

You can read Cooper’s full monologue here:

CNN’s Anderson Cooper: You Have Every Right Never To Watch This Network Again After Trump Town Hall | Video | RealClearPolitics

Full disclosure: I didn’t watch him speak. I made a conscious decision to tune him out, to ignore the falsehood-filled rants he reportedly offered on CNN’s supposed “town hall” event.

My fellow Americans, we should prepare ourselves for much more of the same if this moron’s 2024 presidential candidacy gets that far.

I will cling to my hope that the state and federal indictments to come will pile up, burying this one-time reality TV celebrity/real estate mogul/serial philanderer/all-round evil presence under a mound of legal crises.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Carlson, Lemon gone … now what?

Tucker Carlson has departed the Fox Propaganda Network, seemingly resulting from The Big Lie over which the network was sued and then had to pay $787.5 million to settle with Dominion Voting Systems.

OK. What does that mean in my house? Not a damn thing, because I don’t watch Fox. However, I regret to acknowledge what I believe is the sad truth that Carlson is likely to land somewhere, continuing to spew the garbage he seeks to disguise as legitimate commentary.

Some right-wing network is likely to add Carlson to its roster of blowhards.

Oh, but wait! Don Lemon got the axe from CNN. Lemon said he is “shocked” by his ouster. Why did CNN let him go? Well, I must concede I know little about that, too. Because … I don’t watch Lemon, nor do I heed much of what he says about anything.

Here’s the thing about Lemon, too. A network is going to shell out a lot of money for him as well.

So, I won’t cry for either of these fellows.

***

Back to Carlson for a moment.

He became a major household talking point over his role in fomenting The Big Lie. Evidence was discovered in the run-up to the defamation lawsuit that Dominion settled with Fox that Carlson didn’t believe The Big Lie. He reportedly expressed extreme displeasure with the 45th POTUS in private.

Yet he went on the air with The Big Lie anyway.

Part of me wants to believe the Fox hierarchy cannot tolerate lying openly on the air. The rest of me believes Carlson’s departure is driven instead by a loss of revenue from supporters backing away from the network.

The Big Lie will fester in what passes for the minds of those who believe that the 2020 election was stolen from the 45th POTUS. It will fester whether Tucker Carlson is the air with Fox or with whichever network is willing to allow this know-nothing to blather about the lie.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, Donald Trump, legal news, national news, national security

GOP senators break with Trump … woo hoo!

It’s not every day one gets to salute U.S. Senate Republicans for doing the right thing as it regards the former president of the United States, the former Liar in Chief.

Donald Trump declared on Fox News the other day that he could “declassify” documents taken from the White House and stored at his Florida home simply by “thinking” about it.

No can do … Mr. ex-POTUS. Declassification is a complicated process, Sens. John Thune, Mike Rounds and Thom Tillis told CNN.

They said:

SEN. THUNE: There’s a process for declassifying documents. And I think it ought to be adhered to and followed.

SEN. TILLIS: There’s a formal process that needs to be gone through and documented … As I understand, the executive branch requirements there is a process one must go through.

SEN. ROUNDS: I think anyone who takes the time to appropriately protect that information, and who has taken the time to see what’s in the information would have serious concerns about how items could be accessed, if they’re not stored properly.

GOP Sens. Tillis, Thune, Rounds Break With Trump: “There’s A Formal Process” For Declassifying Documents | Video | RealClearPolitics

Do you get what I mean here? Donald Trump, once again, is making things up in what passes for that brain in his thick skull.

It’s getting might cramped in that space surrounding The Donald as the walls keep closing in.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, media news, national news

CNN ‘demotes’ Lemon? Hmm

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Don Lemon reportedly has been demoted by CNN in the latest move by the cable network to reshape its image and re-cast its brand.

I won’t comment on Lemon’s politics. Frankly, they don’t bother me as he and I think a lot alike. However, I cannot think of Don Lemon without recalling a question I understand he asked a guest regarding the disappearance a couple years ago of Malaysian Air 370, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

You’ll recall that the Boeing 777 jetliner with several hundred passengers aboard disappeared without a trace. Lemon was interviewing some aviation expert and asked, with a straight face, whether the plane could have flown into a “black hole.”

The question took Lemon’s guest aback. He then reminded Lemon that if a black hole is involved in the disappearance of Malaysian Air 370 that it would have “swallowed the entire solar system.”

I guess Lemon was asking … “for a friend.”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Psaki should step down

Those critics of the Biden administration have a point in calling for press secretary Jen Psaki to resign her job as White House flack while awaiting a formal announcement that she is returning to cable TV news.

Psaki reportedly is close to signing a deal to join MSNBC as a commentator. Now, is that in itself a bum deal? No. It isn’t. However, she cannot perform the parallel role as spokeswoman for President Biden’s administration while waiting for new employer to make official what reportedly already is well-known among the Washington, DC press corps.

I believe Psaki has done a creditable job as press secretary. She has sought to give straight answers to straight questions. When she doesn’t know the answer, she has been fond of telling reporters that she is willing to “circle back” when she obtains the answers they seek. Nothing wrong at all with that.

She is now set to don some new proverbial attire as an MSNBC talking head. Psaki did work for CNN before joining the Biden administration in 2021, so it’s no big shakes that she would return to the fight with another network.

Psaki must not mix the two roles — as one who covers the news and one who on occasion makes the news. She is getting far too close to that line to make many of comfortable.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news, military news

Is the Russian ‘bear’ without teeth?

Can it possibly be that the supposedly vaunted Russian military machine is, well, not so vaunted after all? Or that the Russian “bear” is a critter without teeth?

We hear reports of the Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and how it is stalling, and that Russia is having difficulty resupplying the troops who are caught in the offensive that isn’t making much progress.

CNN.com reports that “thousands of Russian troops” have died in the month-long invasion of Ukraine. The Russians aren’t having the battlefield success we all believed was theirs for the taking.

Then again, few of us foresaw the fight that the Ukrainians would put up even in defense of their homeland against the Russian aggressors.

CNN reports: One such assessment found that approximately 7,000 Russian troops have been killed so far, said one of the sources. But that figure, first reported by The New York Times, is on the higher end of US estimates, which vary because the US and its allies have no precise way of counting casualties. Some estimates place the number of Russian troops killed in Ukraine at about 3,000, whereas others suggest more than 10,000 have been killed.

Are the Russians going to run up the white flag of surrender, flee back to Moscow, lick their wounds and let Ukraine declare victory? I don’t believe that will happen.

Although I do believe Russia is going to pay a grievous price for Vladimir Putin’s desire to expand the nation’s empire.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com