News That Fits
Yesterday a loyal reader sent me a comment (thanks RP) on my last post (Chicago, Chicago: A Helluva Town 8/6/18) on the outrageous explosion of murder and mayhem in the once great city of Chicago. He raised the rhetorical question of why we don’t hear more about what should be an important and even sensational story. As far as I can see, the ONLY explanation that makes sense is that the story of violence in Chicago, as interesting and even lurid as it may be, doesn’t fit the “politically correct” narrative of “enlightened” government and policing supposedly thriving in the heavily Democratic and liberal “Windy City”.
Yesterday, a Titusville, Florida, civilian stopped what was likely to have become a massacre at a back to school picnic at Isaac Campbell Park themed, ironically, as “Peace In The City”. The shooting began when an individual who had been involved in a fistfight earlier in the afternoon, returned to the picnic and began shooting into the crowd. Fortunately, a civilian bystander who was licensed for concealed carry, and happened to be standing nearby, quickly stopped the gunman by shooting him in the head. This heroic and extraordinary act got very little “play” in the media. In fact, as hard as this is to believe, the BIG STORY out of all this was that the armed citizen was “NOT GOING TO BE CHARGED”!!!! That’s the STORY??? That the hero of the day WON’T be charged??? Please!!! And why didn’t the obvious “take away point” that armed citizenry CAN PREVENT mass shootings become the major headline? Well, I would guess, once again, that it too doesn’t fit with the “politically correct” narrative, this time, that private gun ownership is invariably dangerous.
And, the last tidbit I’d like to mention this evening is the Special Election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District. The election was mandated to fill the seat of retiring Republican Congressman Pat Tiberi, who left to join the private sector. Both the Republican Troy Balderson and the Democrat Danny O’Connor were, in essence, newcomers, and pre election polling showed the race to be close. Much excitement was had by the Democrats and partisan media over this. Democrats spoke of how IMPORTANT this race was to their plans to “retake” the House. Much was made of how it would be an early referendum on a President Trump. Of how it would be harbinger of their much hoped for “blue wave”. Of how this was going to turn the tide, etc., etc. Well, Republican Troy Balderson won, President Trump scored yet another win, and, guess what? The Democrats now say it’s “no big deal.” “There’ll be a rematch in November”. “No predictive value.” Etc., Etc. And, interestingly, as the results came in, I watched some of the CNN feed from long time Trump hater John King. Amazingly, long AFTER feeds from the New York Times, Vox and CBS had Republican Balderson winning by 50 to 49 points, with 100% of the precincts reporting, CNN had the order REVERSED! When I looked at the numbers, I naively thought that the results must have flipped at the last minute. However, when I went over to Vox and the Dayton Daily News, I learned that, no, the numbers HADN’T flipped! Where did CNN get those numbers? Wishful thinking, perhaps? Well, I WISH I had taken a screen capture of those fallacious results, but because I assumed they were correct, I didn’t. And, when I went BACK to CNN at 10:52, and, this time TOOK a screen capture, what did they report? Verbatim: “No Results”! This was AFTER just about all of the other sources had called the race for Balderson. They were so upset about the results, apparently, that, at least for a while, they couldn’t even bear to broadcast them. A short time later, just out of curiosity, I went back again to the CNN feed. And, what did I find? I found that their reporting had switched, craftily, to the Missouri primary! So, when the “pivotal” and “all eyes are on” and “crucial” election’s results were finally in, it was, suddenly, a “big yawn”. Why the change? Why the “about face”? Well, ladies and gentlemen, this would seem to be yet another case of the story NOT fitting the “politically correct” narrative, this time of the hoped for “blue wave”.
So, to paraphrase the long time slogan of the New York Times: “All The News That’s Fit To Print”, contemporary American media now appears to be best characterized by a new slogan: “All Of The News That Fits We Print”.