FILE -- In this March 8, 2015, file photo, Jimmy Kimmel arrives at the 32nd Annual Paleyfest : "Scandal" held at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
In the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in American history, the news media turned to wisest among us to seek calm words that would unify a heartbroken nation.
Nah. They turned to newly promoted, left-wing hack and occasional funnyman Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel, you’ll recall, served as the Democratic mouthpiece on ObamaCare recently. So he was all primed to do so again.
And he delivered an achingly embarrassing rant that journalists went nuts for. USA Today highlighted late-night show reaction calling for gun control under the headline: “If not now, then when?” The Washington Post bombarded readers with hot takes on Kimmel. Pop culture writer Emily Yahr called his comments an “emotional, scathing monologue about gun control” in one of the three separate stories she wrote about Kimmel’s monologue.
Post TV critic Hank Stuever agreed, adding: “Jimmy Kimmel is saying everything right.” He went on to discuss “a curious evolution process that turned late-night hosts into the nation’s moral conscience.” But remember, The Washington Post, D-Resist, is neutral.
Singing Kimmel’s praises became a journalism default. The New York Times conveniently used nearly identical phrasing, saying Kimmel was “acting as a social conscience as he called out politicians, the National Rifle Association and complacent citizens.” Even the sports site The Ringer tried this strategy, proclaiming that “Kimmel has become the voice that’s best encapsulated a large section of America’s conscience.”
CNN’s Bill Carter wrote an especially ridiculous piece under the headline: “How Jimmy Kimmel became America's conscience.” Carter’s piece read like a press release from Kimmel’s publicist: “Kimmel simply sounds like a regular guy making reasonable points – because he is a regular guy.”
Maybe he seems like a regular guy, but he’s not. Kimmel earns $10 million a year and has a net worth of about $35 million, according to Celebritynetworth.com. Everybody reading who’s a millionaire, raise your hands.
And with all the sudden pretense that Kimmel is such a moral leader, it might be good to recall the Jimmy Kimmel origin story. Kimmel built his career with jokes about genocide and promoting R. Kelly, who’s accused of sex with minors. And then there’s Kimmel’s time on “The Man Show,” where he urged young women to get on a trampoline and jump around to please the audience. Several even stripped, much to the pleasure of our new moral conscience.
The PR-ish Carter swallowed the Kimmel talking points 100 percent. Carter practically cheered Kimmel’s claim that “I want this to be a comedy show. I hate talking about stuff like this. I just want to give you something to laugh about at night."
Don’t believe a word of it. If Kimmel wanted to make us laugh, he could try. Instead, he had an agenda to push. Just like he did on ObamaCare. Just like all the other late-night hosts and most of TV – news or entertainment.
2. Media Push Gun Control, Attack NRA: The media have a pre-written script for gun stories – shift as soon as possible into a discussion of gun control and declare the National Rifle Association evil. Or worse.
GQ’s professional kook Keith Olbermann called the NRA “a terrorist organization” and the media ate it up. The Hill, HuffPost and Raw Story were just a few to highlight his comments, even though it’s been years since Olbermann has been anything other than a circus sideshow to American politics.
But Olbermann isn’t alone. Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw came out against the NRA in full attack mode, urging citizens “to organize on the other side.” He even claimed if members of Congress run against the NRA “you’re portrayed as a traitor to America.”
New York Times theoretically conservative columnist Bret Stephens made a mockery of his credentials and called for a complete repeal of the Second Amendment. Claiming he “never understood the conservative fetish for the Second Amendment,” Stephens skewered most of what the left proposes for gun control. “Expansive interpretations of the right to bear arms will be the law of the land — until the ‘right’ itself ceases to be,” he argued.
MSNBC proven liar and anchor Brian Williams said he didn’t understand why the Sandy Hook shooting hadn’t resulted in more gun regulation. “Why don't we act? What is the problem? What was it about first graders losing their lives that wasn't sad enough to result in changes?” he asked. Fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough blamed "extreme gerrymandering" for NRA success. Apparently, he’s never heard of the Democratic gerrymander in Maryland.
And when the media weren’t pushing an agenda, they were busy being outright wrong about guns. The Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski could work 24-7 squashing these errors and barely make a dent. Gutowski summed it up nicely, writing: “There is no way around it: The news industry is incomprehensibly inept at reporting on guns.” He noted that only three news organizations cover the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – the Washington Free Beacon, The Trace, and Guns.com.
3. Look to Hollywood to Learn How to Think Correctly: You don’t have to look far in Tinseltown to find stars saying all the right (left) things about guns. Singer Nancy Sinatra recommended that NRA members “should face a firing squad.” Public Enemy’s Chuck D echoed much of the left, describing the NRA as a “terrorist organization.” Comedian Michael Ian Black repeated an identical sentiment: “The NRA is a terrorist organization. There's no other way to say it.”
Hollywood was awash in such declarations. Perennial left-winger Michael Moore came out with a complete rewrite of the Second Amendment that essentially guts it and doesn’t even let owners keep guns in their homes. Britain’s Piers Morgan declared: “The NRA is killing America” and singer Lady Gaga said “there is blood on the hands of those who have the power to legislate.”
All of that makes perfect sense because we know that Hollywood never makes any movies with guns or gun violence in them. Never at all. Last year’s top 10 movies included four superhero flicks that feature tons of gun violence – including “Suicide Squad” and “Deadpool.” And 2017 is already shaping up to have the top 10 films also filled with gun violence. That is, after all, how Hollywood stars get paid.
4. ‘Decades of Sexual Harassment Accusations Against Harvey Weinstein’: That’s the actual headline of The New York Times piece on a Hollywood A-lister long-rumored to have a major dark side. The story is both horrifying and hard to put down. Weinstein has simultaneously apologized for having “caused a lot of pain,” and claimed he will sue the paper for $50 million.
The story begins with an anecdote featuring actress Ashley Judd being “asked if he could give her a massage or she could watch him shower.” The creep factor is about 112 on a scale of 1-10. ABC and CBS evening news shows covered the incredible story. NBC skipped it entirely.
In nearly three decades, “after being confronted with allegations including sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact, Mr. Weinstein has reached at least eight settlements with women, according to two company officials speaking on the condition of anonymity,” wrote The Times.
Weinstein’s statement is especially bizarre, as he begs for forgiveness from left-wingers in Hollywood and offers them exactly what they want – war with the NRA. “I want a second chance in the community, but I know I’ve got work to do to earn it,” he wrote. A few sentences later, he vowed to go to war against the gun group. “I am going to need a place to channel that anger, so I’ve decided that I’m going to give the NRA my full attention. I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party.”
Welcome to Hollywood, where you can rape a young girl and get an Oscar and a standing ovation, like Roman Polanski did. And you can be accused of decades of sexual harassment and try to buy yourself out of it by warring against the right.
And This Is Awful, Too: Some stories are worth noting, even if they didn’t garner a ton of media coverage. MSNBC lefty and political director Chuck Todd wants to build the wall. No, not the wall between the U.S. and Mexico. That’s too conservative. No, Todd wants to “reinforce the wall between the news media and the politicians.” That and more fun nuggets were included in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine piece with the hilarious headline: “Chuck Todd Thinks It’s Important to Stay Neutral.” Stop laughing.
Religion might be in the First Amendment, but it shouldn’t be near the National Mall, according to Washingtonian magazine. The mag ran an article on a new D.C. museum, with the bigoted headline: “The Museum of the Bible Will Probably Be a Big Hit. But It Doesn’t Belong Near the Mall.” Politics and Culture Editor Rob Brunner admitted: “I couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable with the whole endeavor.” He ended with a typically secular journalist comment: “The Museum of the Bible, well intentioned though it may be, feels like something of a violation.” That’s probably how most Christians feel when they read any news about faith.
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