Winning The PR War Against Anti-Vaxxers

“The University of Google is where I got my degree from.” – Anti-Vaccine Activist and Playmate of the Year (PMOY) Jenny McCarthy

Has there ever been a more important public relations battle that must be won than the immediate war against online anti-vaxxers over the safety of Covid-19 vaccines?

Some are justifiably worried about the supply side of the vaccine. There are humongous logistical and political hurdles associated with distribution and frankly, who is first in line for … as the Brits call them, the “jabs.”

Almost DailyBrett is more concerned with the demand side. Count on anti-vaxxers using instantaneous and ubiquitous social media to spread their venom of deceit, disinformation and misinformation. Their intent is to make people afraid, very afraid of vaccines regardless of their effectiveness or source.

Your author learned during the course of his career in political and business communications that it’s far easier to run a “No” campaign, and that markets and investors recoil in the face of FUD or Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament this week that getting in front of the anti-vaxxers was imperative, particularly with Britons being the first to receive number one of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Almost DailyBrett believes that nonsense must be effectively and repeatedly countered with ethos (e.g., source credibility), logos (e.g., logical argument) and pathos (e.g., emotional appeal). Repetition is the key to learning.

The global PR campaign must include earned media (i.e., social media, broadcast and print outlets), paid media (e.g., digital and conventional advertising) and owned media (i.e., webpages, blogs, signage, online brochures, social media commentaries).

Besides Drs. Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx and Scott Gottlieb, former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are offering their collective services for advertisements and media appearances.

Is Dr. Deborah Birx more credible than University of Google and Playboy model Jenny McCarthy? Let’s hope so.

My Body, My Choice

“The Moderna vaccine, developed with America’s National Institutes of Health, is a triumph of American science. Failing to vaccinate enough people to stop the virus would be a failure of American politics.” — The Economist, The Covid-19 vaccines, November 28, 2020

No one is suggesting that everyone has to submit one arm or the other to a vaccinating nurse or doctor. That is ultimately a personal choice. Your author strongly believes that as many people as possible should be vaccinated, not only to protect themselves but the lives of others.

Even though we enjoy a First Amendment Right of Free Speech, that constitutional imperative does not apply to the famous, “You can’t yell ‘Fire’ in a crowded (before Covid-19) theatre.” What about willingly and knowingly spreading false information — the ultimate fake news — about life-saving vaccines?

Social media giants, Facebook, Twitter and others are already on the look-out for deliberate and systemic disinformation spewed by anti-vaxxers. The same should be true with conventional media from Fox News to MSNBC, and from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times.

Almost DailyBrett acknowledges that anti-vaxxers likewise have their own rights of free expression, but journalists (if there are any left) have an obligation to apply science to the claims of those who irresponsibly don’t even vaccinate their own children. Google is not good enough.

The much-maligned publicly traded global pharmaceutical industry deserves our respect, (potential) investment and applause for providing us with the proverbial light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel. These companies include Britain’s AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), Germany’s BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), America’s Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

Not every good deed should be punished.

The anti-vaxxers should be seen as misguided short-sellers of another wonderful scientific breakthrough for the benefit of all humanity. They cannot prevail. They must not succeed. We need to get in front of them with the truth and hard facts that vaccines will save literally hundreds of millions of lives.

Effective public relations is our ultimate weapon.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55160246

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/the-latest-ism/

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/covid-19-vaccines-face-varied-powerful-misinformation-movement-online-n1249378

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/obama-vaccine/index.html

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/28/america-will-be-the-first-country-to-roll-out-a-covid-19-vaccine

Forty Niners Announce 2021 Move to Texas

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, December 1, 2020 — Following the path wisely chosen by the Las Vegas Raiders, The Forty Niners today announced the permanent relocation of its NFL franchise from Santa Clara, California to Ft. Worth, Texas.

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 07: the Dallas Cowboys offense lines up against the San Francisco 49ers defense in the first half at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Starting in 2021, the team will be known by the alliterative Fort Worth Forty Niners, and will play its home games at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas. The move sets up an instant Metroplex rivalry with America’s Team, The Dallas Cowboys.

The Ft. Worth Forty Niners will remain in the NFC West, still attempting to compete against the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Lambs.

“We were faced with the real prospect of playing flag football in Santa Clara County or real tackle football in Texas,” said 49ers CEO Jed York. “After reviewing our dwindling options — and considering the 13,000+ California businesses (e.g., Charles Schwab on January 1) who left the Golden State for the Lone Star State — we chose immediate relocation.”

York noted that Texas has zero state income tax, while California is weighing increasing its nation’s highest top rate from 13.3 percent to 16.8 percent retroactive to January 1. The present sales tax in no-contact sports Santa Clara County is 9 percent. The sales tax in business friendly Tarrant County is only 8.25 percent.

The 49ers remaining home games this season with the Buffalo Bills (December 7), Washington Futbol Club (December 13) and the anticipated NFC West division champs, Seattle Seahawks (January 3) will all be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The 49ers road games against the Dallas Cowboys remains set for December 20 in AT&T Stadium, and against the Arizona Cardinals December 26 in State Farm Stadium.

“The romantic images of San Francisco used to be The Golden Gate Bridge, The Ferry Building and Ghirardelli Square,” said York. “Today, it’s out-of-control homeless encampments, heroin needles and defecation in the streets. We just can’t in good conscience represent the permissive and yet overly restrictive California of today. We are joining the growing California Diaspora, heading for pro-growth Texas.”

“We’ve been working with them (Santa Clara County) as a partner, just trying to figure it out,” said Head Coach Kyle Shanahan “For us to be heading out here (Los Angeles) yesterday and the relationship we have with them, for all of our players and coaches and everyone on that plane and our wives to find that out while we’re getting on a plane and no one to tell us. It was just extremely disappointing.”

The Fort Worth Forty Niners are the second of two NFL franchises to leave Northern California in as many years with the Las Vegas Raiders already departed for no-income tax Nevada.

“Maybe Governor Gavin Newsom should build a wall around California to keep its teams, businesses and people from leaving,” said Fort Worth Forty Niners general manager John Lynch. “Who’s next to leave? Micky Mouse?”

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30419130/san-francisco-49ers-coach-kyle-shanahan-very-disappointed-suddenness-santa-clara-county-sports-ban

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/source-49ers-narrowing-venue-options-relocated-practice-games

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2019/11/30/schwab-is-the-latest-company-leaving-california-for-texas-and-it-wont-be-the-last-expert-says/

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/49ers-kyle-shanahan-coronavirus-crackdown-team-homeless

https://www.49ers.com/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/gavin-newsoms-fight-with-mickey-mouse/

Presidential Pardons, The Ultimate Trump Card

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” — Presidential Oath of Office

“The constitutional power of a president to pardon is unique and sacred, meant to give the chief executive the ability to correct injustices.” – Hamilton Jordan, chief of staff to former President Jimmy Carter

“There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly. I’m going to start looking at it.” — President Donald Trump on the possibility of pardoning treasonous Edward Snowden

Anyone, who has followed Donald Trump for even a nanosecond or two, should not expect him to depart the White House meekly or mildly. There must be drama.

Consider the uproar, mainly from the left this week, following the pardon of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Now weigh the potential revulsion from the moderate-right and others, if Trump follows through with an undeserved pardon of traitor Snowden. Russia granted him permanent residency in the Rodina last month. Sounds like a perfect solution to Almost Daily Brett.

Snowden stated that he doesn’t want a parade, but a fair trial in the U.S. Your author must ask how could a “fair trial” for Snowden turn into anything but a media circus with the witness stand becoming a platform for pontification and bloviation?

Didn’t O.J. Simpson get away with murder?

A messy Snowden trial most likely would not be about guilt or innocence, but whether the government can convict or not. The People of the State of California v Orenthal James Simpson (1994-1995) should serve as a reasonable precedent with partisan media (e.g., CNN) undoubtedly siding with “whistle blower” Snowden.

When Snowden willfully and in a premeditated fashion stole government property, leaked national defense information, and transmitted classified intelligence, it all added up to at least two counts for violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.

Permanent residence in Russia, his home for seven years and counting, is too good for him. He deserves lifelong prison with bars instead of birch trees, and certainly not the ultimate Get-Out-Of-Jail card in the form of a presidential pardon.

The late Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer once equated capital punishment with presidential pardons, reasoning that both are final and complete. They cannot be undone.

“Brain-Dead” Pardon

“I think either the president (Bill Clinton) had an incredible lapse in memory or was brain-dead when he did that one (Marc Rich pardon).” – President-elect Joseph Biden, February 11, 2001

“He was a traitor and the information he provided our adversaries greatly hurt the safety of the American people. He was peddling it around like a commercial merchant. We can’t tolerate that.” — Attorney General William Barr, announcing he is “vehemently opposed” to pardoning Edward Snowden

Does Donald Trump care about his presidential legacy?

One of the last acts in office by former President Bill Clinton was the unjustified 2001 pardon of Marc Rich. The fugitive was wanted for 50 counts of wire fraud, racketeering, massive income tax evasion and trading oil with Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran, Khadafy’s Libya, Milosevic’s Yugoslavia, Kim Il Sung’s North Korea and Apartheid South Africa.

Rich even renounced his citizenship in the United State of America, and yet he was pardoned. How can you exonerate someone who isn’t a citizen anymore? Alas, your author is not a constitutional attorney.

Whether Americans want to give him credit or not for comprehensive tax reform, transforming the United States Supreme Court and achieving America’s energy independence, Donald Trump has some major positives on the asset side of his presidential balance sheet.

Why add the pardon of Edward Snowden among his liabilities, when Snowden has already secured lifelong residency in Vladimir Putin’s Russia? U.K. traitor Kim Philby spent his last days in the USSR, why can’t Snowden do the same?

“I’m not asking for a parade. I’m not asking for a pardon. I’m not asking for a pass. What I’m asking for is a fair trial. And this is the bottom-line that any American should require.” – Edward Snowden on Coming Home to America

If Snowden isn’t asking for a pardon Mr. President, why give it to him?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-snowden/trump-says-he-is-considering-pardon-for-leaker-edward-snowden-idUSKCN25B10Z

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/the-coming-presidential-pardon-of-edward-snowden/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/europe/edward-snowden-russia-residency-intl/index.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/21/edward-snowden-attorney-general-william-barr-opposed-to-pardon/3410460001/

Virus vs. Vaccine Mentalities

“Suddenly in a dark winter, there is hope.” — The Economist, November 14-20

“You didn’t need Trump to tell the vaccine companies you should develop a vaccine. He had nothing to do with it. Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, they all know this is billions of dollars, whoever gets to the market first. So, it’s in their economic interest to push this fast.” — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Your author strongly believes it’s an humanitarian imperative to “push this fast.“

Whoever gets credit for the life-saving vaccine and drives the bottom line is secondary to ending the global pandemic.

Almost DailyBrett must ask: Do some in the ever-expanding public sector embrace the concept of never letting a good global pandemic go to waste? Whattyathink testy daily news conference star, Governor Cuomo?

More restrictions? More clamp-downs? More rules? More regulations? Will the proletariat always be grateful turning its meager lives over to you? Just tell us what to do. Please.

There are those who can only see the darkness of never ending Covid-19 virus statistics and graphs. What “science” will governments cite to protect us from ourselves, including cancelling family Thanksgivings and presumably Christmas (e.g., religious holiday) as well?

There are those who can see the light at the end of the tunnel provided by publicly traded science-based vaccine innovators and developers. These include: Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) and others with robust R&D efforts to save literally hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.

What’s Wrong With You, Governor?

The honorable governor of New York seems to have a problem with publicly traded pharmaceutical companies investing literally billions into life-saving research and development (R&D) by the best and the brightest bio-scientists.

And then — horror or horrors — they have the audacity of hope to expect a return on investment (ROI) for their shareholders and employees.

Almost DailyBrett must ask here and now in a style that New Yorkers know oh so well: ‘What’s wrong with you, governor?’ Ready to yell at another reporter, who dares question your eminence?

The American media industrial complex (AMIC) serving as the ground troops for eternal government expansion has successfully convinced way too many people there is little hope in the battle against Covid-19. They are scared, arguing with anyone who will listen about wearing a mask.

Go for it. It’s only a piece of cloth, but don’t be frightened in your own home. Better days lie in the future.

Former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb has been a reassuring realist about the dangers of Covid-19. More importantly, he has championed the great promise of vaccines including the 90 percent+ effectiveness of the solution developed by his own company.

The future is not cowering in the darkness or condemning a life-saving pharmaceutical or biotechnology company from reporting a well-deserved profit to an investing public.

The days ahead should instead be a celebration of literally a miracle drug developed by American, British and German publicly traded pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, ultimately ending the global pandemic.

Once again, Capitalism is winning.

Buy Low Sell High.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-blames-drug-companies-president-trump-speedy-covid-19-vaccines

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/its-the-vaccine-stupid/

Trump Lost, Republicans Won

“Donald Trump would have won, if he hadn’t done so badly in the first debate. He needs to look at himself in the mirror. ‘Is it my fault? Is it the things I said? Is it the presentations I gave?’ Trump has to come to grips with that first debate and how damaging it was to his candidacy.” — Pollster Frank Luntz, particularly the use of qualitative interviews

“The Democrats’ historic weakness is its reputation for defending bad government against small government.” — Lexington, A Democratic defeat in victory, The Economist, November 14, 2020

Can’t tell you how many times Almost DailyBrett heard pundits and academics proclaim: ‘Debates don’t matter.’ They mattered for JFK. They mattered for Ronald Reagan. They mattered for Donald Trump.

Even though America’s media and polling industrial complexes — often one-and-same — forecasted a big bad Blue Wave on election day, it turned out to be not even a trickle.

As Almost DailyBrett writes this commentary, the Republicans are a virtual lock to hold the Senate only losing a net one seat in the upper chamber. The GOP is plus nine and counting in the House of Representatives, the resulting margin getting a little too close for comfort for embattled Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A record 17 new Republican women were elected to the House of Representatives, nine who defeated Democratic incumbents including impressive wins in blue bastions California, New York City and Minnesota.

Even though the Democrats recaptured the White House with Joe Biden, there seems to be little joy in the Democratic ranks other than Trump is leaving office. They won’t have Trump to kick around anymore, and there lies the problem.

‘Why not pummel each other, socialists vs. moderate lefties?’

The GOP will no longer have to defend Trump’s lack of political discipline and daily exhausting drama. The Democrats will have to explain “defund the police,” nationalizing private health insurance, The Green New Deal and most of all, the public embrace of socialism.

Socialismo o Muerte?

“Latinos are Republicans. They just don’t know it yet.” — President Ronald Reagan

“The Democrats lost most ground with two groups that have a special loathing of socialism, Cuban-Americans and Venezuelans. Their shift to Republicans cost the Democrats two house seats in Florida and Mr. Biden the state.” — Lexington, The Economist

Usually when a party loses the White House with an unpopular incumbent at the helm, it also suffers in Congress (e.g., Jimmy Carter in 1980). Almost DailyBrett can proclaim with impunity: Joe Biden produced no coattails.

Look for the new president to resort to executive orders and foreign affairs to offset what the checks and balances imposed by his loyal opposition. The elite partisan media (i.e., CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post) will re-direct its collective venom away from Trump to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Expect the “Progressive” wing of the Democratic Party to blame 2020 electoral defeats on the party not being socialist enough.

Anticipate that some Republicans will champion the comeback of Donald Trump in 2024. None of the four defeated incumbent presidents (i.e., Hoover, Carter, H.W. Bush, Trump) ever successfully pulled off political resurrections that is both history and prophecy.

Trump took over the Republican Party in 2016. He is no longer the titular head of the party. The GOP has the opportunity now to reclaim its rightful mantel as the movement for small effective government, libertarian respect for the individual, and neo-liberalism support for free enterprise and free-and-fair global trade.

The Democrats achieved a lonely pyrrhic victory.

The Republicans planted the seeds for a more inclusive electoral comeback fueled by discerning women, achieving Hispanics who abhor socialism and embrace economic liberty, and African Americans who know that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Buy Low Sell High!

https://www.foxnews.com/media/frank-luntz-pollsters-trump-outperforms-polls

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/14/a-democratic-defeat-in-victory

https://premierespeakers.com/frank-luntz/bio

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/526012-here-are-the-15-gop-women-newly-elected-to-the-house-this-year

How A Record Number Of Republican Women Will — And Won’t — Change Congress

Can Personal PR Save Kamala?

“Mr. Biden is too old for the job, and fragile. There is a very real chance he will not make it through the term. Mr. Trump is also too old but seemingly robust. But in Mike Pence, Mr. Trump has a vice president ready to take over, if need be. He is a safe pair of hands. Sen. Kamala Harris gives no evidence of being ready to be president.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial, October 31, 2020

Let’s hope and pray that Joe Biden can make it until 2025.

He can keep the seat warm with time set aside for afternoon naps until either aforementioned Vice President Mike Pence or former South Carolina Governor/UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is elected as our 47th president.

Almost DailyBrett watched the October 7 vice presidential debate with more attention than ever. Most pundits dismiss VP candidate encounters as a waste of valuable air time. Your author vehemently disagrees.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in its presidential endorsement editorial noted neither Donald Trump, 74, nor Joe Biden, 77, are spring chickens. There is at least a 50-50 chance that geriatric Biden will make it through the next four years.

Some may contend that Pence is the consummate loyal soldier, maybe a little boring. Kamala Harris, who once suggested out loud her running mate was a racist, is a little too irritating reminiscent of finger nails scratching a chalkboard.

The words: ‘mean’ and ‘baggage’ seemingly come up repeatedly when the discussion turns to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, soon one solitary heartbeat away from the presidency.

Her candidacy for president was buried by America’s political class in the fall of 2019. These same pundits are now celebrating her accession to the number two position in the land, mainly based on her multiple ethnicities and gender.

The baggage refers to her outspoken support, and sometimes rescinded backing, of ultra-left stretch goals including the New Green Deal, defunding police, opening national borders and Medicare For All (e.g., nationalizing health insurance, throwing 180 million off private policies).

“I Don’t Believe You Are A Racist.”

Kamala’s legendary reputation for meanness was particularly on display at the very first Democratic presidential debate June 27, 2019. She effectively accused Joe Biden of being a racist, allowing herself enough rhetorical room to deny she did just that. Her behavior and persona were proven that night to be diabolical and downright nasty.

Some may want at this point to lob a Misogyny grenade at Almost DailyBrett. Your author did not support Hillary Clinton four years ago, and her spoiled loser behavior since then has reinforced the wisdom of not backing a 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Clintonian Restoration.

A similar likeability concern applies to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (difficult to type these words). Can effective personal public relations counsel save Kamala from her own persona? Will she even listen to PR advice?

Almost DailyBrett applauds the overdue inevitability of a woman leader of the Free World. Watching the measured calmness, ethos, gravitas, moderation and practicality of Germany’s Angela Merkel each night on ARD’s Tagesschau makes your author excited about the prospect of a first of many women presidents.

There is simply no way that a heaven forbid President Kamala Harris would be America’s answer to Kanzlerin Merkel. Her persona is too mean. Her policies and instincts are too radical.

As a Roman Catholic, your author will never forget Kamala Harris attacking U.S. District Court Judge Brian Buescher for actually being a member of (gasp!) The Knights of Columbus. Maybe Ms. Harris should be reminded that Joe Biden is now the second Catholic to ever serve in the White House.

Joe Biden’s foolishly painted himself into gender corner by announcing his choice would only come from a pool of women candidates. The strength of Black Lives Matter, led him to select the very same person who insulted him and tried to lay racist shame at his feet.

Would we be having the same discussion, if pleasant U.S. Senator Cory Booker was the incoming vice president?

Almost DailyBrett wishes for the good health of President-elect Joe Biden and a post Covid-19 recovery for the nation and the world. Having said that, you author and presumably more than just a few are afraid for good reasons of Kamala Harris in the Oval Office, very afraid.

https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2020/10/31/editorial-donald-trump-joe-biden-mike-pence-kamala-harris-presidential-candidate-endorsement/stories/202010310021

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/mean-people-suck-just-be-nice/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2019/07/01/busing-nostalgia/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2019/01/30/could-jfk-be-nominated-by-todays-democratic-party/

Can USA Media Shift From Offense To Defense?

“That is the president of the United States. That is the most powerful person in the world. We see him like an obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over.” — CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper, November 5

Can the partisan media transform itself from a pack of attack dogs against Donald Trump to the Praetorian Guard for Joe Biden?

Will any anchor of any network use any obese dying animal metaphors to describe President-elect Joe Biden? The public Face of CNN’s cruel imagery of Donald Trump says far more about Anderson Cooper as a mean person than it does the president.

What amazes Almost DailyBrett is that CNN and some of its viewers urged this type of hatred against one man. NBC and MSNBC even cut away from the president’s speech about the election.

Would they do the same with Biden?

The days of the partisan media on offense against the White House are coming to an end. The days of defending, explaining and rationalizing Joe Biden’s coming misstatements and gaffes are at hand.

Will CNN, MSNBC, NBC et al. become press secretaries for the largely unvetted 46th president of United States?

For a longest period of time, the elite partisan media blamed everything from Covid-19 to body odor on Trump. What’s next? The world keeps turning and the leader of the free world with all accompanying responsibilities falls squarely on Joe Biden.

Trump was a Nielsen ratings machine. CNN, MSNBC, NBC, New York Times, Washington Post and others built their profitable business models on publicly opposing anything and everything Donald John Trump.

As Almost DailyBrett has repeatedly lamented, the days of media objectivity, professionalism, fairness, and dispassionate reporting are long gone. The vast majority of anchors, editors, reporters and correspondents have become hyper partisans, ignoring anything positive about Trump and devouring anything negative about the president.

Different Coverage Standards For Different Presidents?

“Do you think there is blood on the president’s hands, considering the slow response?” — NBC’s “Meet The Press” anchor Chuck Todd

Will partisan media now reverse course in January and gleefully “cover” anything positive from the White House, and dismiss and bury any or all negative news about Joe Biden? Do you think any network will cut away from a live Biden pronouncement to provide for their own fact checking?

The whole imagery of totally discredited MSNBC’s Brian Williams fact checking anyone else on the planet after his long-established record of embarrassing personal glorification falsehoods is beyond the pale. He is still a legend in his own mind.

In football parlance, the best defense of all is a good offense. Will the media not only defend their president, but launch salvos against any Republican (e.g., Mitch McConnell) who has the temerity to disagree with president #46?

Almost DailyBrett recognizes that CBS is not inclined to go back to the days of revered professionalism of Walter Cronkite or CNN will ever revert to the gravitas of Bernard Shaw.

Wonder what Bernard Shaw really thinks about Anderson Cooper?

Should Americans merely accept the sad reality of partisan media not only picking sides and becoming a powerful special interest for one side of the aisle?

Watching the US media demonstrating its agility in transforming itself from offense to defense will provide us with an answer, most likely an unfortunate answer.

https://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-anderson-cooper-trump-obese-turtle-flailing-election-video-2020-11

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/what-happened-to-bernie-shaws-cnn/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/are-elite-media-thriving-in-the-age-of-trump/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/03/29/america-loses-trust-in-media-at-the-worst-time/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/what-happened-to-bernie-shaws-cnn/

Yet Another Polling Train Wreck

“Fool me once, shame on you. Food me twice, shame on me.” — Too Many Authors To Count (hopefully not by pollsters)

“Politics has never been and will never be a science.” — Professor Larry Sabato, University of Virginia Center of Politics

It’s been three days and counting, and we are still awaiting the promised ‘Blue Wave.’

Was Donald Trump buried by Democratic margins way outside of 3.5 percent margins of error? Nope.

America’s polling industrial complex was so certain that Mitch McConnell and the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate would go with Trump right out the door. Don’t think so as four Republican incumbents are still in play in Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina.

Almost DailyBrett contends the worse kind of intelligence gathering are efforts to gather any and all tidbits that agree with a pre-determined narrative, and ignore any and all data points that do not coincide with the pre-ordained elite media gospel.

Famously Joseph Stalin rejected and ignored all intelligence, even the last indications telling him the day and even the exact hour (4:30 am local time, June 22, 1941) that Germany would invade Russia.

President George W. Bush wanted to believe the 2003 intelligence that Weapons of Mass Destruction existed in Iraq. The WMDs have not been found to this day.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough scolded the polling industry (quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups/interviews) and panting media for their 2016 collective gleeful quest to prove that Madam Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton would elected as the first woman president of the United States.

Is Hillary just a tad jealous today?

Not Reflecting Public Opinion; Driving Public Opinion

“This poll obsession is mainly about the news organizations’ branding and their intent to generate hopeful narratives and less about really helping the electorate understand the political landscape.” — DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall

Your author as a lead campaign spokesman and later press secretary to former California Governor George Deukmejian learned first hand from the Los Angeles Times in 1982 and again in 1986 about how media will employ polling to generate an intended result.

The Times‘ home town hero was Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who twice ran against Deukmejian for the governorship of the Golden State. It was no secret the management of the Los Angeles Times wanted Bradley to win.

The Times’ I.A. “Bud” Lewis poll always had Bradley overachieving compared to every other survey. Bradley was not doing better than expected in 1986. He lost in the blue state 61-37 percent, simply the greatest landslide in California’s history.

If Almost DailyBrett was King of America, he would prohibit media surveys from being included in the RealClear Politics average of polls. The same is true for university polls as they are skewed (e.g., oversampling Democrats, undersampling Republicans) in a left-word direction to mirror their political sympathies.

What aids their backing of Democrats will be included, what works in a contrary direction will be excluded.

The missions of these partisan media and university surveys are to produce results that don’t necessarily accurately reflect public opinion, but drive public opinion and more importantly Nielsen Ratings.

How about following surveys from FiveThirtyEight that have the temerity to consider and report all data points, even notoriously stating in 2016 that Donald Trump can win, when virtually all others scoffed.

Everyone loves a winner. The media will deliver a Democratic victor.

The only problem appears to be the real electorate, even some who are shy about their opinions.

They have this irritating habit of showing up and voting on election day.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/larry-sabato-biden-landslide-polling-industry-hidden-trump-supporters

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/09/13/learning-from-morning-joe-four-years-ago/

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/10/24/donald-trumps-effort-to-sow-mistrust-is-looking-like-an-own-goal

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-20-mn-762-story.html

https://fivethirtyeight.com/politics/

Imagine An America Without Republicans

What would happen if there was only one side of America’s story for elite media to cover?

Would journalists become glorified stenographers?

Forget objectivity. Forget professionalism. There would be no need.

What if pachyderm Republicans became extinct as the Whigs and the pterodactyls? There would be zero loyal opposition, and less choice.

What if big media, academics, labor unions, Hollywood, Manhattan and DC elites, professional organizers all realized their fondest wishes? Forget Alphabet, Amazon, Apple or Facebook, the real monopoly would reside with one all powerful political party, the Democrats.

There would be no Donald Trump, much less the GOP. Democrats would reign supreme. There would be no need for checks and balances … except for checks made out to the IRS.

There would be a new-and-improved ‘Great Society’ — “The Greater Society.” How did the first one work out?

The existing model for a one-party America with no loyal opposition is — permissive California with its squalor, rampant crime, homeless crisis, dizzying array of always increasing taxes, record deficits and declining population.

California is dominated by one party with a Democratic governor, two U.S. Senators, a veto-proof state Legislature, and a congressional delegation with 46 of 53 seats held by Democrats.

California’s media, universities, Hollywood, public employee unions, Silicon Valley, trial lawyers, sundry elites and special interests are all aligned with the blue state’s dominant Democratic Party.

It’s a clean sweep.

Disneyland would remain closed in Anaheim, California, but open in Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Mickey Mouse may even follow Charles Schwab to Texas.

What if this monolithic model was realized for the United States of America?

Democrats in the White House, controlling both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, packing the United States Supreme Court and lower federal benches, and of course, controlling all facets of American life and liberty through invasive stifling bureaucracy?

Would we be basking in the glow of a harmonious permissive Greater Society as long as we wore our masks?

“Government Is The Solution”

“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” — Actor and Humorist Will Rogers

“Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread.” — Former President Jimmy Carter

“Government is not the problem; government is the solution to all of our problems.” — Text of President Kamala Harris’ 2024 Inaugural Address

Would there be eternal happiness in a one-party, big government America?

Would all Democrats see eye-to-eye on every issue and concern? How would and how much would Wall Street and its retail investors be taxed and regulated? Would there even be a Wall Street?

Would the remaining neo-liberals become just liberals on the dole, anxiously awaiting their direct deposit of their Universal Basic Income (UBI) hand-out?

Would all undocumented be given the right to vote? If America becomes a “sanctuary” country, would there be any need for borders? Come one, come all — register to vote blue over here.

Would there be any need for national defense, let alone police forces? There would be zero military deterrent, only pretty please diplomacy. Will we end the specter of “mass incarceration” by simply opening up correctional doors?

Would our police departments be defunded, replaced by community organizations? Who would answer the 911 call when someone is breaking into your house? A social worker?

Even though political parties are not mandated by our Constitution, true Democracies flourish when there is real competition in the marketplace of ideas.

The reality of one-party states (i.e., China, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, California) has proven time-and-time again to fail. Even Democracies with only one dominant party (i.e., Mexico with the PRI and Japan with its Liberal Democrats) have faltered, and are not anyone’s definition of ‘success.’

The historical record of true multi-party states (e.g., France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States) have demonstrated that pluralistic democracy works, it works very well.

To the editors of The Atlantic and other über liberal media, harken against monopolies in the tech space. Do they really want all governmental power and our precious individual freedoms to be placed in the hands of one all-encompassing political power.

Almost DailyBrett will take a pass on that nightmare image.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/i-used-think-gop-should-be-saved/616189/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/decline-gop/614983/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/californias-heat-seeker-taxes/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/gavin-newsoms-fight-with-mickey-mouse/

Buy Low And Sell High Millennials

When the last Baby Boomer bites the dust, Millennials will inherit $22 trillion.

Today, Millennials own $9.1 trillion in assets or 7 percent of the total amount held in America. At the same time in their respective lives, Baby Boomers (hatched 1946-1964) controlled 26 percent of the total.

Many Millennials (born 1980-2000) are justifiably upset they may not be able to buy desirable homes or condos in reasonable proximity to places of employment, but where are these Zoom places of work anyway?

Employing The Law of Unintended Consequences, Covid-19 drove virtually everyone indoors, wearing masks away from each other. The stereotypes are digital native Millennials spending hours behind their platform of choice, playing video games.

Sometimes stereotypes are correct, but surprisingly the video game of choice for more than a few Millennials and even some Z-Gens are commission-free retail Wall Street online trading platforms (i.e., Robinhood, E -Trade, Charles Schwab…).

Check out the photo of the Robinhood team above. These Millennials are guiders of the future of economic freedom.

The perception is that Millennials in droves are enamored with socialism, even siding with Bernie Sanders and his call for “Democratic Socialist Revolution.”

This fling may be true, but there is another side of the story. These very same Millennials are embracing the freedom to invest in the form of online trading in publicly trading companies from America’s Apple to China’s Alibaba.

Heck, they are even putting more than a few shekels into the B-shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Buy Low Sell High Millennials, and Generation Z too?

Does that mean that Millennials and Generation Z (born 2001 and beyond) are selling out or are they just buying in?

No One Wants To Be Poor

“The beardless youth does not foresee what is useful, squandering his money.” — Poet Horace, 15 BC

As a former Central Washington University Assistant Professor, Almost DailyBrett particularly enjoyed teaching Corporate Communications/Investor Relations to Millennials.

Many were more than a tad scared about learning the mysteries of Wall Street (i.e., income statements, balance sheets, market capitalization, earnings per share, price/earnings ratios … ).

For their finals, student teams conducted buy side/sell side analyst conferences for publicly traded companies (i.e., Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco, Nordstrom). They dressed up. The looked the part. They used the language of business.

They were professional. They were awesome.

Why would these students sign up for this particular “elective” course? One reason is none of them wants to be poor.

Are they laying down their lives for the root of all evil, money? Are they leaving socialist justice in their respective wakes? The answers are ‘no’ and ‘maybe.’

At the risk of overgeneralizing, Millennials have a keen interest in successful and cool ESG companies (Environmental, Social, Corporate Governance). The can smoke out companies resorting to green washing and pink washing.

They want to invest in those devoted not only to fiduciary responsibility (e.g., doing well), but just as important companies paying true homage to CSR or corporate social responsibility (e.g., doing good).

Aren’t Millennials and certainly Z-Gens starving in our pandemic world? Some are. Some obviously are not, particularly those who are investing on retail trading platforms right now, and presumably for years to come.

Charles Schwab is offering stock slices, allowing Millennials to buy small portions of one share of a cool company’s equities.

Apple and Tesla split their shares four-to-one and five-to-one respectively. Who are the beneficiaries? The institutions (mutual funds buying stocks and brokerage houses recommending stocks)?

The answer is retail investors. And who is the future of retail investment? Millennials and Z-Gens. They are making their own money, starting right now.

And when the Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll generation passes into the ether, they will leave $22 trillion in assets to Millennials and Z-Gens.

Be smarter than your predecessors: Buy Low Sell High!

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/10/24/in-defence-of-millennial-investors

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/10/20/wall-street-will-soon-have-to-take-millennial-investors-seriously

https://www.investingsimple.com/robinhood-vs-charles-schwab/

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2019/11/30/schwab-is-the-latest-company-leaving-california-for-texas-and-it-wont-be-the-last-expert-says/

https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/fiduciary-responsibility-vs-corporate-social-responsibility/