Life After Fox News

Paul Ryan cartoon from Cagle Comics at Utah Independent 

Yes, Fox is moving relentlessly leftward, and in our household, we click the “Mute” button during prime time viewing -- or turn the channel. Judi McLeod at Canada Free Press quotes Breitbart to begin her report:

. . . Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who currently sits on the board of Fox News Corp., and who, according to Vanity Fair, is reportedly urging Fox News to “decisively break” with President Donald Trump—news in the magazine’s report documenting the network’s “management bedlam”. (Tony Lee at Breitbart, Sept. 26, 2019)

Ryan, the longtime Trump antagonist, has reportedly been suggesting to Murdoch that “Fox should decisively break with the president” as Murdoch holds “strategy conversations with Fox executives and anchors about how Fox News should prepare for life after Trump.”

Downright laughable that while “strategy conversations” are taking place to decide how Fox News “should prepare for life after Trump” that legions in the unwashed masses are already preparing themselves for life after Fox News.

. . .

Full report is here. 

Related: While I find Mark Levin abrasive most of the time, he dials it down on his Sunday evening program on Fox. This Sunday, Peter Schweizer is the scheduled guest. Having read his books Clinton Cash, Extortion, and Secret Empires, I plan to tune in. Mr. Schweizer is the go-to source on the Joe Biden scandals.

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Ohio energy legislation: northern Ohio impact

image credit: 123rf

Energy consumers in Northern Ohio will probably see lower monthly bills, but environmentalists insisting on renewables will not be happy. The Institute for Energy Research reports at the Canada Free Press:

Ohio’s New Energy Bill

Lawmakers in Ohio have chosen to rescue two existing nuclear plants and two existing coal plants in lieu of mandates on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and as a result, lower electricity prices are expected for electricity consumers. Renewable energy will have to enter the market on its own merits once renewable energy reaches 8.5 percent of electricity generated in the state—up from about 3 percent today—and once federal subsidies expire. Residential charges will be lowered by over $2.00 per month by the legislative change and grid reliability is expected to be enhanced. The Ohio bill is contrary to what most states are doing and it will be an interesting exercise to contrast future electricity prices here and in surrounding states that are continuing their renewable mandates and forcing new capital expenditures because of mandates and subsidies.

The new law in Ohio subsidizes two nuclear power plants. Residential customers will pay an 85-cent charge on their monthly bills and large industrial customers will pay up to $2,400. The surcharge will produce about $170 million a year; $150 million of that will be used to subsidize the two nuclear power plants‚Äî908 megawatt Davis-Besse, outside of Toledo, and 1,268 megawatt Perry, northeast of Cleveland, which will close within two years without the subsidy. The remaining $20 million will be divided between six existing solar projects in rural areas of the state. The subsidies are approved through 2026 and would total about $1 billion. The charge will start January 2021. Nuclear power accounts for 15 percent of the state’s energy generation and generates 85 percent of its carbon-free energy.

Read the rest here.

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What is an Electoral College compact?

Electoral College History page

 art credit:fremontcountychamber.com

I had not seen reference to an “Electoral College compact” until now. Here is Glenn K. Beaton’s “Dems shooting themselves in foot with Electoral College compact” at the Aspen Times:

Dems are still smarting from losing the 2016 presidential election by losing the Electoral College.

So they have an idea. Apart from the dubious constitutionality of their idea, it's a bad one which can only help the GOP.

. . . [then follows a good summary of the Electoral College]

The Dems would like to abolish this system because it hurt them in 2016. Of course, it could help them in some election in the future, but politicians don't have the analytical ability to fight any war but the last one.

Despite the Dems' wish, the College won't be abolished. That would require an amendment to the Constitution. The odds of that happening are 0.00 percent.

Here's their fallback idea.

The states would enter into a "compact" that would work something like a multiparty contract. They would each agree that they would cast their respective College votes for the candidate that wins the national popular vote. If all the states entered into this compact, and if it survived Constitutional challenges, then the winner of the popular vote would thereby win all the electoral votes. Every election would be a 538-to-0 decision in the College.

But in the real world, not all states will enter into this compact. That's because the College currently seems to favor the GOP. Sure, the blue states like California, New York and Illinois will sign up. But red states like Texas and the rest of the south and the mountain states won't. And purple states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and others probably won't.

So only the blue states will be bound by their compact.

. . .

Here's the bottom line.

Unless the Dems convince plenty of red or at least purple states to join their compact, which is unlikely, the net effect of their compact will be that they will override the will of their citizens only when their citizens vote for the Dem candidate.

Mr. Beaton’s article is here and it’s worth a read. But I am more apprehensive than he is. Considering how the integrity of our elections remains at risk (see Judi McLeod today at Canada Free Press here, for example), I would view the "compact" as just another attempt to rig the system.

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#WalkAway™ March today

From the Canada Free Press:

#WalkAway™ March LIVE Stream. The #WalkAway Campaign, founded by former liberal Brandon Straka, is a true grassroots movement. It is a Facebook video campaign movement, dedicated to sharing the stories of people who can no longer accept the current ideology of liberalism and what the Democratic Party has become. Some of us left long ago, while many have recently been “red-pilled.” Some have wanted to leave for some time but have feared the consequences they might suffer from friends or family if they were to walk away.

The group is here to encourage and support those on the left to walk away from the divisive tenets by allowing people to share their stories, watch the video testimonies, and read the posts of others who have walked away.

The campaign also serves another very important purpose. For far too long, the left has controlled the narrative in this country within the news media, while the “silent majority” on the right have done what they always do – remain silent. The left has been allowed to reinforce the narrative that everybody on the right is a bigot, a racist, a homophobe, a misogynist, etc. The left has become so extreme and hateful that it is now time to fight back! We want people on the right to use their voices and tell the world the truth about whom they are by making videos telling everyone what it means to be a conservative in America and what your values really are. Tell minorities on the left, who have been told their whole lives that they are not welcome on the right because of the bigotry and hatred, that they are welcome. Tell them there is a seat at the table on the right for everybody.

The coverage has been sporadic and mostly online rather than on network news. Most people can't watch live streaming all day. But for short video clips, check out Chicks on the Right here. Looks like the #WalkAway™ March is a success.

UPDATE: More coverage here at Business & Politics Review, with video of Fox & Friends.

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Healthcare & the GOP : Pathetic Fail or Corrupt?

Michael Ramirez cartoon via U.S. News and World Report

The headline:  Pat Toomey says GOP wasn't ready with healthcare ...because they didn't think Trump would win. That’s the conclusion in this Jul-07 report by Robert Laurie at the Canada Free Press:

For some time, I’ve been arguing that the GOP should have had a plan to repeal ObamaCare ready - and on the President’s desk - the week that Donald Trump took office. The ACA’s elimination should have been a day one priority, then you could rest of the year working on healthcare fixes and tax reform.  I’ve heard a whole pile of excuses about why that didn’t happen and I’ve never really bought any of them.

There were only two answers that made sense: Either the GOP didn’t really want to repeal ObamaCare, or they simply dropped the ball and we’re witnessing one of history’s worst cases of political shortsightedness.

While I still suspect there are a lot of Republicans who’d love nothing more than to leave the ACA in place and have the whole issue go away, it sounds more like the GOP just ...failed.  According to [Senator] Pat Toomey (R-PA), no one bothered to ready an ObamaCare repeal bill, because they all thought Hillary was going to be your next President.

He made the remarks during a town hall, hosted by ABC27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“I didn’t expect Donald Trump to win. I think most of my colleagues didn’t. So we didn’t expect to be in this situation.

And given how difficult it is to get to a consensus, it was hard to force that until there was a need to.”

In other words; “We could vote to repeal ObamaCare 40 times when we knew Obama wouldn’t sign the bill, but we never wasted our time preparing for the eventuality that we might actually win the next election.”  That’s just pathetic, and it validates a lot of criticisms that Democrats were lobbing at Republicans back during the Obama years.

It’s an admission that their healthcare votes during the Obama administration really were just obstructionist political theater and it suggests that they spent more time preparing for a Hillary presidency than they spent trying to secure a victory.

Remember, they had eight years to ready a repeal, replacement, or fix.  Instead, they put on a big show, yakked about their alleged principles, smiled at their constituents, and kicked the can.

They squandered their time, your money, and our collective efforts because it was easier than getting together on a solution.

No wonder they’re so despised.

My own take: When Senator Toomey admits that the GOP did not seriously prepare for the repeal of Obamacare because they did not expect to win the House, Senate, and White House, he makes the GOP look like fools, but that’s probably better than admitting the truth. I suspect that Laurie’s alternative is correct: the GOP does not want to repeal Obamacare. Nearly all of the GOP, including the so-called Freedom Caucus, are members of The UniParty, and they have already been bought.

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Fake News Works

art credit: zero hedge

Dave Merrick published a piece yesterday in the Canada Free Press on why “Fake News Works,” and it hits the nail on the head. The entire essay is here. Below are some extracts:

I have watched many lawyers imitate the following scenario when addressing a witness on the stand ... “Isn’t it true that you saw Mr. So-and-so get into his car and drive away after he committed the murder?” To which the opposing attorney will, if he is earning his wage, instantly respond, “OBJECTION! Counsel is leading the witness, your Honor! We don’t know that Mr. So-and-so committed any murder!” To which the examining attorney will just as instantly return with: “I withdraw the question, your Honor.” But the seed was planted, nonetheless. And that was all the attorney wanted to do. Jurors are impressionable - because they are people. He planted his seed to shape an opinion.

. . .

Professional politicians and their allies the liberal media . . . fully anticipate the naïveté, short attention spans and impressionability of their audiences, who no longer put forth any effort to make sure of anything (beyond perhaps doing an occasional appeal to an obviously left-leaning Snopes). (I encourage my readers to verify the accuracy of Snopes, especially “fact checker” Kim Lacapria).

YouTube is overflowing with video examples documenting liberal liars, starting with our former chief executive and including ‘news’ journalists, lying their heads off. Most people will never take the time to go looking for these mini-documentaries that only take a few minutes to review. [click here and scroll down for those videos] 

. . .

And lies distract us from the really important things that can destroy us as a nation.

The time that is wasted in a nation fumbling around with ‘scandals’ that don’t even exist is more time for the cancer of simple division and its festering rancor to continue in disintegrating what’s left of our unity and strength. As I have said many times, Donald Trump has got to be the single most slandered and berated president in all of American history. Everybody, from an outraged liberal media/ entertainment industry trying to regain its control - to nearly every second rate, has-been actor or musician pursuing a mother lode of free press - has of late climbed aboard the “I Hate Trump” train like sucker fishes hanging on a great white shark.

. . .

Now, finally, the authors of fake news are beginning to be exposed for what they are: sheep in wolves’ clothing who lie for a luxurious living.

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