Media losing power?

 

Glenn Reynolds, a/k/a Mr. Instapundit, makes a good case:

Media’s censorious gatekeepers are mad —
because they’re losing power

With Donald Trump out of office and de-platformed, you’d think mainstream media gatekeepers would be happy. You’d think wrong.

Though the media-Big Tech regime is doing its best to silence opponents and seize control of the high ground, the news from within is grim. They aren’t happy with how things are going. 

That’s because they know they’re losing. Some are losing audiences and revenues. But more important, they’re losing control of the narrative.

And since control of the narrative, and the power and self-importance that accompany that control, is the most important thing in their lives, they can’t be happy.

Consider the cri de coeur of Washington Post public editor Hamilton Nolan, inspired by Tesla’s decision to scrap its media-relations department. How could that happen?

Nolan knows how, and that’s what bothers him: Tesla scrapped its media-relations department because the media don’t much matter to it. Tesla has plenty of ways to get its story out without relying on the media, and that makes the media much less important — and much less powerful. And it’s the power part that hurts the most.

. . .

I hope it’s true.  Read the rest here.

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A.F. Branco's tribute to Rush

 Via Legal Insurrection:

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Tributes to Rush Limbaugh

Photo credit: abc11.com

William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection has the announcement:

Rush Limbaugh has passed away

Irreplaceable

Just announced by his wife on his show. I suspected something was up when he repeatedly cancelled out of shows recently.

It’s an understatement to say that we have lost a giant. He was so much more. He was a cheerleader and clairvoyant. In the face of mainstream media lies and collusion, he was a voice of fresh air that kept our spirits up. He was the target of cancel culture before we even knew the term.

Full article with photos here.  Sundance has more wonderful photos and tributes here,

UPDATE:  Mark Steyn has a wonderful tribute here.

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The "Forever Pandemic": A Story of Moving Goal Posts

 

In an article “Normalizing the Forever Pandemic,” Jennifer Oliver O’Connell at Red State sums it up:

We have gone from 15 days to slow the spread to 333 days with COVID still active, along with new strains. We went from only those most vulnerable should wear masks in March, to we’re masking up until 2022 to “save lives.” Candidate Biden blamed Trump for COVID deaths and poor response to the pandemic, and said he would work to create a plan to end the pandemic. Apparently, plans to end the pandemic have been put on pause, if not given up altogether. What we have is forever pandemic language, with its symbol being normalizing Mask wearing—and maybe wearing several.

It seems it doesn’t get better.

Biden said in that same Thursday conference that the “end goal” is “beating COVID-19.”

But with each new press conference, he keeps moving the goal posts, and the American people have noticed.

. . .

Part of making something “normal” is to make it ubiquitous and also trendy. Everyone you see, from your waitress, to your news anchors, to your favorite television characters are wearing their masks. We now have masks in fashionable colors and designs to match your outfits, emblazoned with logos and representative statements — or better yet, you can market your work or product instantly!

. . .

The “forever pandemic” message only takes hold if we accept it as normal.

If we insist on a society of zero risk forever, people will never see their elderly parents again. The forever pandemic and the zero-risk society bear heavy costs.

Read the rest here.  (It's not just the Biden administration. The CDC, Drs. Fauci and Birx et al were moving the goals posts in month 1 of the "forever pandemic.")

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Parler: FAIL

 

So we all thought that Parler would be a viable alternative to Twitter.  Alas, Shane Trejo at Big League Politics reports:

The alternative social media provider Parler is back online after inexplicably relying on Amazon to provide their initial web hosting, but apparently the operatives behind the platform have not learned their lesson for the relaunch.

Parler’s new hosting provider, SkySilk, has a blanket ban on all “hateful material” without specifying what that term exactly means.

“We specifically reserve the right to refuse to provide the Service to customers or End Users engaged in dissemination of material that may cause us to be subject to attacks on our network, or that while technically legal, run counter to our corporate principles,” SkySilk wrote in their terms of service.

So Parler, while advertising itself to be a free speech platform, will really be operating off and dependent on the “corporate principles” of a far-left tech company.

The full report is here.  The online definition of Parler at not-so-reliable Wikipedia is here and it's not pretty.

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We Should Celebrate Individual POTUS Birthdays

 

“We Should Celebrate Individual POTUS Birthdays.” Jeff Dunetz at The Lid has a point:

Monday, February 15, has been designated as Presidents’ Day, another fake holiday seemingly meant to tear down American heroes and replace them with a meaningless day off work (for some). But I urge you, America, to reject this sham holiday. 

In New York, where I grew up, we celebrated the birthdays of two of our greatest presidents in February, Abraham Lincoln on the 12th and George Washington on the 22nd. Lincoln’s birthday was never a federal holiday (southern states still weren’t happy about losing the Civil War). In 1968 congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Washington’s big day to the third Monday in February and changed it to Presidents’ Day. A celebration of all presidents.

It’s right to celebrate the presidents individually, sure, but not all 46 of them on the same day. I mean, it isn’t celebrating any of them if you are celebrating all of them. 

Read the full piece here.  

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Mr. Flip-Flop-Flip Fauci

 

Click to embiggen or click here for the image on Instapundit.

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