Watching things unfold across various news media in recent days revealed a couple of irritating patterns. No doubt many will think I am nitpicking; it’s no secret that I am not a fan of the mainstream media, after all. Still, the MSM are like the irritating kids in HS who you wanted to not hate because you knew they could be much better people, but wouldn’t stop doing things to make you hate them.

Half of them were named Mitch.

I don’t want to hate the news media — they want me to hate them.

I’m actually a huge fan of responsible, earnest journalism. It’s not my fault that it’s only being practiced by three or four people in America at the moment, none of whom work at the national level.

There is a lot of news to be monitored every day and I try to get to as much as I can. Blogs, newspapers (digital), network news, cable news…I’m consuming a ton of it every day. I watch it all with a critic’s eye.

On Monday, almost forty people died in a nightmarish fire on a recreational boat near Santa Cruz Island in California. Rescuers were still looking for bodies on Tuesday but the story had almost completely vanished from the myriad feeds I peruse all day.

That there was nothing new to report isn’t the point. Most MSM outlets repeatedly tweet and share unchanged stories throughout any news cycle.

The media has been focusing on just a few things the past two days. Chief among them was news about President Trump’s hurricane Dorian-related tweets. There have been more updates on those than on the hurricane itself, it often seemed.

There wasn’t much news about the hurricane either, but that didn’t stop the MSM from mentioning it and “CLIMATE CHANGE” together every forty-five seconds or so. Predictably, Bernie Sanders used the hurricane to go into full “never let a crisis go to waste” mode.

As I am writing this, Dorian has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm and it might do something in the U.S. or it might not. It did, however, achieve its dramatic progressive narrative effect, though.

While I had to go out of my way to find any updates about the tragedy in California, I was repeatedly reminded that ONE small Catholic school removed Harry Potter books from its library. This hot piece of journalism broke on Saturday and was still in heavy social media rotation on ABC News’s and several other major MSM accounts early Wednesday morning. Four days of coverage. So far.

Priorities.

Sadly, the search for bodies in California was suspended on Tuesday night.

STOP LYING

“Organized efforts to target journalists and discredit their reporting happen in places like Russia and China… Organized efforts to target journalists should not happen in America.” – @ChuckTodd https://t.co/RrPBEScyPD — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 3, 2019

Investigating agenda-driven disseminators of partisan propaganda who masquerade as journalists is different. Good talk.

As I Was Just Saying

This revolting smear by a Bloomberg reporter is a perfect example of how (according to a defector friend) our society is coming to resemble communism: leftist media figures will distort and even lie to destroy reputations and careers of their perceived enemies. https://t.co/aUABKVw2rG — Rod Dreher (@roddreher) September 3, 2019

More on the above.

Awful people are awfully awful.

I promise I’ll lighten up tomorrow. Maybe bring snacks. Whiskey pops, or something.

PJM Linktank

KTHXBYE: Prince Harry Wants You to Stop Flying So Much

French President Macron Offers $15 Billion Bailout to Iran to Stick with Nuclear Deal

Ted Cruz Accepts Alyssa Milano’s Challenge to Debate Gun Issues

Not the Onion: Man Pulls Out a Gun After Popeyes Runs Out of Chicken Sandwiches

Salon Endorses the Bloody Seizure of the Hagia Sophia by Jihadis

U.S. Conservatives Host ‘Pop-Up CPAC’ with Hong Kong Protesters

VodkaPundit: Dem Congressman Claims It’s Easier to Buy an AR-15 Than Sudafed, Hilarity Ensues

Calif. Gov. Newsom Backs Bill Designed to Ruin Uber, Lyft and Gig Economy

From the Mothership and Beyond

Sure, I’ll move there now: Democratic Party closing last two offices in South Dakota

Knife-Wielding School Attacker Kills Eight In China

National Review’s Kyle Smith takes on Tom Nichols, and Max Boot is very upset

Check out the divide between critic scores and audience reviews of Dave Chappelle’s comedy special

Dems are probably upset she wasn’t harmed: Woman shoots man who reached into car and tried to steal purse in SW Houston: Police

Elizabeth Warren’s Bias Against Private and Religious Schools — and Their Teachers

Trey Gowdy is Responding to James Comey’s Demands For an Apology

Be Careful With Those Selfies, Very Careful

Hoo Boy: We Don’t Necessarily Need To Win Iowa, Says Team Biden

‘I will try to make you proud’: 9-year-old daughter of a fallen Green Beret reads a touching letter to her dad during his funeral service

Investigation: Anti- ICE “Never Again Action” Not The Spontaneous Grassroots Group It Claims To Be

Gun Owners And 2A Supporters Are Offering New Ideas, Not Just Saying ‘No’ To Gun Control

Nice knowin’ ya: Walmart Announces New Sales And Store Policy Regarding Guns And Ammunition

Guy Benson makes a great point here about the short-sightedness of Walmart’s decision.

BIDEN SAYS HE OPPOSED IRAQ WAR EFFORT ‘IMMEDIATELY,’ DESPITE MULTIPLE PUBLIC REMARKS SUPPORTING IT

#MGGA: Conan O’Brien Kicks The Tires In Greenland And Likes What He Sees

Bee Me

Walmart Discontinues Auto Part Sales To Prevent Car Accidentshttps://t.co/mESvEg8bS8 — The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) September 3, 2019

The Kruiser Kabana

FINE, I’ll go green: Lamborghini just announced its most powerful car ever, the hybrid electric Sián

“Ana Navarro”

When you look closer at this 16-foot jellyfish, what else can you see? pic.twitter.com/eBQmnzmYxr — National Geographic (@NatGeo) September 3, 2019

We haven’t had any Rickles in a few days. Here’s a one-of-a-kind classic. Frank Sinatra is guest-hosting the Tonight Show and he just had to have Rickles on. This isn’t the greatest video quality but it’s still worth it.

Happy Hump Day. Irish Pub yoga begins tomorrow.

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PJ Media Associate Editor Stephen Kruiser is the author of “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” and “Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage,” both of which address serious subjects in a humorous way. Monday through Friday he edits PJ Media’s “Morning Briefing.”