CNN'S NEW WOKE ADVENTURE GOES DOWN IN FLAMES

                                        BY BILL JUNEAU                                                     Here in the USA, news about Elon Musk and his  takeover of Twitter is dominating the airways and headlines. The  crash of CNN's new offshoot, dubbed "CNN-Plus" is passing with little public attention, only with  sobs from woke journalists.    

                                 It was promoted by the station to be the evolution of video news and the start of a new era for the company. Three-hundred new employees were hired and 150,000 persons signed on as subscribers, willing to pay a monthly fee for whatever new progressive  programming would be streamed their way.  It was projected that a billion dollars eventually would be injected into the program and in the end CNN would be reigning strong among cable news stations. 

                                "CNN-Plus" went down in flames after 30 days of "streaming."  In the purest possible rhetoric, it was a disaster, and there were words of concern from dopey anchors, Joy Reid and Don Lemon.  CNN's Lemon said that it failed because it ran into  "identity" problems---which apparently must have something to do with racism.   To others behind a mike, maybe it was Elon Musk's shadow.  MSNBC's Reid saw Musk involvement and asserted that  the celebrated white billionaire grew up in South Africa and continues to embrace apartheid.

                                  All in all, it is kind of amusing.  CNN dreamers commenced planning for "CNN-Plus" last July.  It would provide  viewers more woke and marxist theories, and would drive a stake into the heart of its principal cable news competitor, Fox News.  Last December, it hired Chris Wallace away from Fox News and he was to be sort of the captain of the liberal extravaganza.  "CNN-Plus" went into operation on March 29, and by April 30, had quietly crashed and burned.

                                  In terms of ratings and popularity among cable  viewers, Fox News is pummeling CNN.  On the world stage, Elon Musk has acquired Twitter and promises free and uncensored chatter on the social network;  and that is bad news for CNN.  But hey, while billionaire Musk probably considers CNN as a worthless and dishonest purveyor of news,  he most likely had nothing to do with the cessation of "CNN-Plus."  No evidence from Reid or Lemon that he "cancelled it."   

                                   The far left station is crawling and begging for viewers and had hyped "CNN-Plus" as the progressive way of the future. It was charging subscribers $6 per month.  Now, with its failure, it is returning the money on a prorated basis.  Also, scores of the 300 recruits got pink slips and a token check, and Chris Wallace is walking the plank.  

                                   Wallace, 74,  who was the streaming guru, now finds himself in some sort of limbo.  In an interview a few days ago, he said that he was a "victim" and he didn't know what caused the ship it to go down.  Too many rival ideas, he said,  and "I don't know who was right and who was wrong."  Displaying emotion and maybe even a few tears, he said that he did not know where he would end up, but wherever that is, "I will be okay." It is doubtful that he would ask Fox News to take him back, and even more doubtful that the station would be willing to do so. But then, his return cannot be ruled out.  

                                    Also out at CNN is Jeff Zucker, 57, its president for the past nine years, and the station heavy behind the ill-fated "CNN-Plus" .  It was Zucker who promoted it with its liberal  agenda and progressive appeal, and he importuned Wallace, a registered Democrat,  to leave his spot at Fox News in favor of the "new adventure." Wallace's liberal views paralleled those of  Zucker's, and colleagues at Fox News and its viewers were said to be pleased with his exit since they saw him as two-faced,  masquerading as a down-the-middle journalist,     

.                                    Zucker's way of covering the news focused on regular denouncing of white Republicans as racists, supremacists, and liars.  Not a day passed in which anchors and staffers failed to paint former President Trump as a racist and a xenophobe  and a puppet of Russian  President Vladimir Putin. Chris Wallace was on board with all of that.  He was perfect as Zucker's main engineer.   

                                      The CNN story is that Zucker resigned because of pressure brought over his in-house romance with station Vice President Allison Gollust, in violation of house rules.  Other reasons circulating about his "reluctant" resignation is that his incompetency and poor decision making, which has brought  CNN  sewer level ratings among news stations, could no longer be tolerated. 

                                       Zucker has been replaced at CNN as President by CBS'  Chris Licht, who is considered a top TV newsman and producer.  He has been credited with "retooling"  the Stephen Colbert show, and making it into a hit.   Also he created "Morning  Joe" on MSNBC.  "Morning Joe"  is Joe Scarborough, a former republican congressman from Florida.  Licht reportedly had a hand in  remaking Joe into a noisy Donald Trump-hating Democrat.   

                                          Behind the curtain at Fox, it was said that the mush-mouthed Chris Wallace was green eyed over the popularity of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.  While Wallace was tweaking President Trump, Hannity, Carlson and Ingraham were pointing to his accomplishments and the good job that he was doing. There was strong applause when he exited Fox, took off the mask and signed on as a woke journalist at  CNN.   

                                          In leaving Fox last December,  Wallace said on his Sunday morning show that he looked forward to a "new adventure," but in private comments, he has been quoted as saying that he was happy that he would never have to spend another elevator ride with that sociopath, Tucker Carlson. His return to Fox where he spent 18 years as a reporter and anchor is not anticipated. More than likely, he will wind up with a microphone alongside Reid or Lemon where he can be himself, castigating Republicans as supremacists and racists, while praising the Biden administration's spending and open border policies. 

                                             

                                                  xxx               

 

                                             

                                               

                            

WHERE'S HUNTER'S COMPUTER

                                    BY BILL JUNEAU                               

                                   Where is Hunter Biden's computer, the machine which allegedly tells the story of Hunter's debauchery and corruption and which involves his father, identified as "The Big Guy"?  

                                   Apparently, the incriminating laptop is in the hands of the FBI,  being examined by experts in its elite cyber division. However, the assistant director of that division, Bryan Vorndran, doesn't know that, or more likely he does know, but isn't telling. His peculiar recalcitrance was the gist of his recent testimony before Congress seeking information about the laptop and the President's drug-addicted son.  

                                    "Astonishing," said Congressman Matt Goetz in assessing testimony from the 19-year FBI veteran who was installed as the key man in the bureau's cyber  division in March of last year.  He had been the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office. 

                                   Was Vorndran testifying under oath, and, if so, is he flirting with possible perjury charges and for lying to Congress?  Is he a part of an FBI cartel which has allied itself with, and marches to the drumbeat of the Democratic party?  Is he a fan of former FBI  Agent Peter Strzok who was fired for savaging Donald Trump in email messages he exchanged with his paramour, also an agent, as he cheered for the election of Hillary Clinton?    

                                     Agent Vorndran's appearance was before the  Judiciary committee of the U.S. House of Representatives which is charged with maintaining  "oversight" of the FBI which is the investigative arm of the Department of Justice. 

                          After Florida Rep. Goetz put the question to Vorndran, the witness said that he did not know the answer to that question. "Sir," said the neatly-dressed Vorndran, "I'm not here to talk about the laptop. I'm here to talk about the FBI's cyber program". 

                              Visibly irritated, Gaetz clenched his teeth and dug in.  

                              Mr. Vorndran, Gaetz fired back,  "you are the assistant director of the FBI cyber division.  I want to know where Hunter Biden's laptop is. Where is it?"  The computer was given to the FBI and the bureau receipted for it more than two years ago. So, "Where is it," he repeated. 

                             Congressman Goetz, Vorndran replied, " I don't know the answer to your question," adding that he would refer the inquiry to other senior agents at FBI headquarters.  

                              Although Goetz wanted answers to the whereabouts of the tell-all machine, he advised the committee that he is in possession of a copy of its hard drive. He formally moved that it be admitted as part of the Congressional Record before the 41- member committee, and the Democrat chairman, Jerrold "Fat Jerry" Nadler, promptly denied the request.  Later, however, when the agitated Republican Goetz persisted in his demand, Rep. Nadler did a U-turn and agreed. 

                              Through past months and years, news stories have appeared referencing computer messages written by Hunter along with videos of him in compromising settings.  On one video, Hunter is reportedly pictured in an acid sleep,  partially clothed and lying on a bed with a crank pipe hanging from his mouth. 

                                Many U.S. senators, particularly those who are Republican, and former President Trump, and Trump's  personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, believe that the contents of the Hunter computer demonstrate corruption involving members of the Biden family, including President Biden, and the president's brother, James.   Incredibly, Giuliani has said,  the information in the laptop touches the Bidens and speaks of million dollar contracts with  Red China, Ukraine and Russia, and of huge  amounts of money flowing into the coffers of the Bidens, with chunks of cash earmarked specifically for the "Big Guy."

                              Former president Trump has said that the scandal with the Bidens would make Watergate look like child's play, and would make "Crooked Hillary look like an amateur."  Giuliani has said that Joe Biden has been corrupt his entire life, and that the media has always covered for him.                                

                             Is there an explanation somewhere for reports that  $3.5 million dollars were given to Hunter Biden from a former first lady of Moscow?  Republican analysts have said that the money was given as a way of currying favor with his father.  Is that Russian money linked to other activities of Hunter and his Uncle Jim  Biden?  How many of the 129,000 messages on the Biden computer deal with the generous Moscow lady. In a debate in 2020, then Candidate Biden said the big gift to Hunter was fabrication, and he offered no other comment on the matter.  

                             The existence of the computer became known in 2019 after Hunter's laptop had been dropped off at a Delaware computer repair shop, but for unknown reasons was never retrieved by Hunter or by whomever dropped it off. Recognizing that its contents raised national security concerns, the shop merchant contacted Rudy Giuliani whose reputation for honesty and legal acuity was known to him.  

                              Along with having been a New York mayor for eight years during which time he brought safety to New York streets,  Giuliani was a respected lawyer who had served as a gangster-busting U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York for several years prior to his election as mayor.

                             Giuliani delivered the laptop to the FBI which promised an investigation.  Copies of the incriminating hard drive were given to the New York Post which confirmed the authenticity of messages.  In the fall of 2020, prior to the November Presidential election, it published a series of articles revealing videos and messages which revealed the suspicious activities of the  cocaine addicted Hunter Biden and his global deals with China and other countries which suggested corruption in a variety of ways.  

                              Asked during a 2020 debate about the laptop, Candidate Biden said that it was fabrication and the product of Russian disinformation.  The controlled, pro-Democrat media declined to report news about the laptop and Hunter's messages. It disregarded information provided by Tony Bobulinski, a Hunter Biden partner, who said that Hunter's father was the "Big Guy" and that cash was regularly earmarked for him from contracts. 

                             Bobulinski, a former naval officer, said that Joe Biden attended meetings with his son and was familiar with Hunter's business dealings. Bobulinski said that he personally attended Hunter-arranged  business meetings at which Joe Biden was present. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Bobulinski  said that President Biden was a "compromised" President, and should not be the nation's leader. 

                             Former Attorney General William Barr has said that "Biden lied" when he said that the laptop was Russian disinformation.  

                           In March of this year, the Washington Post and New York Times suddenly confirmed the authenticity of the Hunter Biden Laptop computer and the accuracy and validity of an undetermined number of videos and messages on the hard drive.  

                          Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that the FBI will do its  job without any political interference. To many, this would be almost as big a surprise as the nation's two leading newspapers making that sudden about-face after years of denying there was any news value in the now infamous laptop.

                                               xxx

                           

TEXAS TO BUS IMMIGRANTS TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

                      

                                         BY BILL JUNEAU

                             With the acquiescence of President Biden and his so-called "border czar," Vice President Kamala Harris, immigrants are pouring into Texas cities along the Mexican border at an incredible rate.  Over the first 14 months of the Joe Biden administration, more than 2 million men, women and children have crashed onto American soil,  inspired by Joe Biden's open border philosophy and his signal to "com'on in" 

                             It  has been estimated that the migrants are entering the country at the rate of 5,000 to 10,000 per day.  And more can be expected with the anticipated canceling of Title 42 which had been used by the Trump administration to reject asylum claims over  Covid-19 concerns.  

                             In Texas, the sheer number of  immigrants is overwhelming towns and villages, and have prompted  Gov. Greg Abbott to call out the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to arrange for the transportation of mulling, homeless migrants to Washington, D.C. 

                             The governor said that converging gate crashers  will be met by state troopers in riot gear and will be directed to buses for the trip to Washington, where the Biden administration can take over.  The president, he said, can provide hands-on attention for the  shelter and sustenance of illegals he is allowing into the country. 

                           Buses can handle about 40 migrants in each, said Gov. Abbott to the applause of Texans.  President Biden's press secretary, Jenn Psaki, said that it is a crime for the governor to kidnap persons and place them on a bus, but reportedly the illegals are pleased to have a seat and to come fact-to-face with the President who has made their covert entry into the USA, with perks, a reality. 

                           Since taking office in January of last year, Biden has simply ignored the border crisis.  In his first State of the Union address (SOTU)  on March 1,  he sought to appeal to citizens concerned about America's wide-open borders and the sneaking in of foreigners by disingenuously calling for securing the borders with Mexico.   

                           In his televised address, he led off with a condemnation of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, promising that the USA had Ukraine's back, providing the country with money and weapons. Then, endeavoring to display a  patriotic face while reading from his teleprompter, Biden introduced the subject of immigration, and said:

                             "If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system.---and we can do both.  We can do all of this while keeping the torch of liberty that has led generations of immigrants to this land--my forefathers and so many of yours.........Let's get it done." 

                               The obligation to secure the border belongs to the President of the United States, and to no one else.  President Biden has taken an oath to carry out mandates in the U.S. Constitution, but, upon taking office,  he has done nothing but allow illegal border crossings and unprecedented disorder.  His SOTU words, "Let's Get It Done," had an empty clunk to them.  For him, the border crisis is just  storybook fabrication by his Republican critics.  

                              Surging immigrants are being helped across the Rio Grande river and through bushes and over rocky and sandy clearings by Mexican Cartels and "coyotes"  who sell their services and make millions of dollars. The coyotes also deal in the trafficking of women, and children and have ways of pushing fentanyl, heroin  cocaine and other dangerous drugs into the United States. 

                                 After being bussed to Washington, pregnant migrants will be able to give birth to their babies  and the infants will immediately become full-fledged citizens and their parents and relatives will be able to join them as legal residents and partake of the Biden largess funded by taxpayers.   If by some chance, migrants get redirected by Biden into New York, they will be able to vote in upcoming state elections  and a voter registration will not be required

                                When Gov. Abbott reminded the slow-witted President and his giggling Vice President, Kamala Harris, of the terrible difficulties being caused to the state of Texas, Biden  declined steps to alleviate the mess. as open borders and free stuff  for immigrants is his endorsed policy.  "This is who we are as Americans," says Biden in his familiar horse whisper.  

                                One Texas congressman, a physician who served as the White House doctor to former President Obama, has said that President Biden is cognitively impaired...and "is dangerous."  The Congressman, Ronny Jackson, has urged Biden to submit to an examination to determine if he is mentally able to serve as the nation's 46th President, but as yet, the President has declined to take the test.   

                                Upon taking office in January of last year, Biden immediately canceled all further construction on the Trump wall along the border.  Some 450 miles of the impenetrable wall had been completed during the Trump years in office, and only 50 miles of the wall remained to be built. But Biden ended the construction by executive order and trashed purchased and unused building materials valued at many millions of dollars. 

                              After ending construction of the wall, Biden  appointed Vice President Harris as his border person, and gave his  assurances that the history-making female vice president of color would look over immigration concerns and instill sensible solutions. 

                               Harris reportedly has visited the border on only one occasion.  When asked about the crisis in an interview, the vice president only giggled through a black duck mask she was wearing. She explained that her first step in solving the immigration problem would be to visit Venezuela and other  South American and Mexican cities to determine the "root causes" for the influx of migrants seeking entry into the United States. Apparently, her report is forthcoming. 

                                                   XXX

                      

                                

                                   . 

                                              

     

                        

                             

THE SLAP FOR JADA

 

                                       BY BILL JUNEAU

                    Did Chris Rock earn that slap on the face from Will Smith during the Academy Awards annual bash when he chided and needled Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, because of her bald head? 

                    Jada Smith, 50 showed up at the Dolby theater for the 94th Oscar night wearing a bizarre deep green balloon-like dress with a five foot long caboose with enormous puffy ruffles. Add the flimsy towering heels, and she could barely move without carefully balancing the entire ensemble from side to side.  More cultured folk have described her outfit as a "Jean Paul Gautier Spring 2022 Haute Couture gown adorned with rows and rows of ruffles, and sharp structured earrings, with sky-high Jimmy Choo stilettos."

                    There were lots of oohs and aahs over her dragon gown, but the absence of an attention grabbing hairdo drew only silence from  critics.  Jada, no doubt, is a bit sensitive over the alopecia disease which has robbed her of the chance to change her hair color and style at every Hollywood get-together, and forced her to make do with a bald pate, which, if the truth be known, did not look all that bad, as Hollywood extravaganzas go.

                     In his opening monologue, Oscar Host Rock delivered a prepared joke aimed at Jada comparing her to GI Jane in the 1997 movie in which Demi Moore had shaved her head.  Rock joked that maybe a GI-Jane 2 starring Jada was in the works. 

                     Rock and Jada and Will Smith had known each other since the 1990s.  Jada and Rock had appeared in number of films together, and Will was in some too, and there were whispered rumors that Rock and Jada were a touch more than professional friends. 

                     Will and Jada were married in the mid l990s and they have a son, Jaden, and a daughter, Willow, both celebrities in their own right. Jada is also step mother to Will's son Trey from a previous marriage.  

                      Will has said publicly that he and Jada have an "open" marriage and each has had other sexual partners and that marriage for them "cannot be a prison." Jada has told of her affair with singer, August Alsina, and Will has admitted that he found interest in other beautiful women too, but in the end the Smiths have stayed together for more than two decades.  

                         In his monologue, the smiley, bug-eyed  comedian Rock, who claims not to have known of her medical condition,  touched a sore spot for Mrs. Smith. 

                       "Jada," Rock said, "I love ya.  GI Jane 2--can't wait to see it." Will scowled at the remark and leaped from his seat in a front row and charged up the steps and onto the stage and let go with a right hand on his old friend's face.  

                         He pivoted and returned to his seat and yelled with all cameras zooming in:   "Keep my wife's name out of your f....ing mouth."  He even yelled it twice to make sure that he was being heard.  Rock retained a half-grin on his face and seemed to reply, "I will, indicating that he had no plan for a follow up joke. 

                         Reportedly, Academy Award security officers asked Will to leave, but he apparently declined. Police officers were prepared to collar and arrest actor Smith if Rock would commit to signing a complaint, which he did not. 

                        The awards ceremony continued and as fate would have it, the 53-year-old Smith  was named best actor for his role as King Richard,  the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. He delivered a tearful acceptance speech and apologized to almost everyone around--except Rock--for his outburst.   "I was wrong and out of line," he said, and there was lots and lots of stand-up applause.  

                         So, was the behavior of husband, Will Smith,  justified?   Days before the Oscars, Jada had said that she doesn't "give 2 craps about what people think of her baldness..."   True it was a joke, but a cruel one, and if Rock did not know about Jada's condition, he is probably the only one in Hollywood who did not, since she has been open about it. Smith must have known that socking Chris Rock on stage would light a publicity fire--but then maybe he figured that publicity is never all bad. 

                         Lots of celebrities have weighed in.  Dopey Jim Carrey and Howard Stern, the breast fanatic of radio fame,  said that Smith had no right to slap.  It was a joke and you cannot start punching in anger. Of course, if slapping became due course in the entertainment world, they would probably be in for a few knuckle sandwiches themselves.

                        Progressive Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who is bald as a cue ball and like Jada, is a victim of alopecia,  said initially that the whack on Rock was appropriate.  But then,  24 hours later, she amended her tweet to say that Will was wrong, since it was a joke and Will should have bitten the bullet, as violence is never the answer.  Trump-hating Rosie O'Donnell opined also that Will was in the wrong.  

                          After the joke landed with a thud,  Jada Smith seemed to roll her eyes and look apprehensive, as her husband charged the stage.  The following day, Will contacted Chris Rock and apologized for his actions which he called "unacceptable and inexcusable."  Rock has said that he is 'processing the events" and might have more to say later. Read that to mean he is trying to come up with some good jokes that won't earn him another smack in the face.

                          The Oscar committee, following the show, said that it would investigate Smith's explosive conduct, and that the veteran actor could be suspended or even expelled from the Academy. However, five days after the awards ceremony and with his gold statuette in hand, Smith let the word out that he was resigning his membership in the Academy. 

                          In a written statement, he said that he had "betrayed the trust of the Academy."  The list of those I have hurt is long, he said, and it includes Chris Rock, and his family; and global audiences and dear friends and loved ones and others.  He said also that he would accept any further consequences for his conduct that the Academy deems appropriate. 

                         As yet, no one has blamed "racism" as an underlying cause for Smith's meltdown. But then, who can predict the future.

                                                xxx