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| Sean Hannity |
Sean Hannity is the big loser in the Jim Jordan fiasco… The Fox News personality led the charge of the Jim Jordan for Speaker brigade, ridiculing Republicans who voted against the right-winger as “snowflakes.”
Hannity wrapped himself in the American flag, saying he was only advocating to end the drawn-up battle for Speaker in order to “reopen the People’s House amid growing chaos both at home and abroad.”
He posted on X: “Any member of Congress would be crazy not to support Jim Jordan for Speaker. He is a natural born principled leader who will lead House Republicans to unite vs. the radical left.”
That natural born principled leader served as a lapdog for Donald Trump in his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and is presiding over an over-the-top “weaponization of the federal government committee” fishing expedition trying to dig up dirt on the Biden administration.
Good thing for America: Hannity’s “snowflakes” didn’t melt under his pressure.
Elon’s got some work to do… Elon Musk’s blue-checked “verified” user system on X is a boon for spreaders of misinformation about the war between Israel and Hamas.
In March, Musk allowed users to pay $8 a month to show a blue checkmark and have their posts prioritized on X.
According to Steve Brill’s NewsGuard October misinformation monitor, 74 percent of the false or unsubstantiated claims about the conflict were posted on verified accounts on X.
They include doozies such as Ukraine selling weapons to Hamas, the Oct. 7 terror attack on Kibbutz Be’eri was a “false flag” operation staged by Israel, and a video of senior Israeli officials captured by Hamas.
NewsGuard also found widespread misinformation on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Telegram but chose to focus on X because Musk has been most public about the cut in its moderation efforts.
NewsGuard emailed questions to X about its findings but only received a “busy now, please check back later” response.
Brill’s team may have to wait a bit for the answer.
After Tesla reported a 44 percent decline in third-quarter earnings on Oct. 18 and said that it faces “enormous challenges” in scaling up production of the much-anticipated Cybertruck, Musk certainly is busy now.
Run, Bobby, Run… An independent presidential run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be a boost for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Oct. 17.
In a head-to-head rematch, Biden beats Trump by a 49 percent to 46 percent margin among registered voters.
In a three-way contest, Biden snags 44 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for Trump and 16 percent for RFK.
With Kennedy in the race, Biden support among Democrats drops five percentage points, while Trump loses 10 percent among Republicans.
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion, said Kennedy alters the race in Biden’s favor.
He added that the poll also shows that about one in six voters want to vote for somebody not named Biden or Trump.
Hold those pitches. Beach House, which launched 14 years ago in Newport Beach, CA, is offering to remove the names of people on its pitch list who do not want to be contacted due to the conflict in the Middle East.
In announcing a client win on Oct. 18, Beach House said: “We understand this is a difficult time for many and want to let you know Beach House is here. If you'd prefer not to receive any pitches at this time, let us know and we will temporarily remove you from our lists.”
Racine Diaz, a Beach House staffer, told O’Dwyer’s that she didn’t have a count of the number of names dropped from the list.
A huge PR opportunity looms for a firm that is willing to take some heat by promoting Immigration & Customs Enforcement... Disgraced New York mayor Eric Adams couldn't wait to make another pilgrimage to Israel to stick it to his successor Zohran Mamdani... Hats off to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett for writing his always engaging and witty annual reports over the years.
The ADL plans a Mamdani Monitor to track down any whiff of antisemitism from the policies and appointments made by his administration. It should have given him a chance to live up to Election Night promise... Brendan Carr, Alden Global Capital, Alphabet, Meta and Elon Musk make Reporters Without Borders' roster of Press Freedom Predators.
Andrew Cuomo's political career is not dead yet... Steve Bannon says Republicans should learn from Zohran Mamdani and his Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, instead of mocking them... Internet advertising model is on the way out, says Tim Berners-Lee... Gannet rebrands as USA Today Inc. What about its other 200 papers?
Thomas Jefferson warned about the dangers of an imperial president who would deny an election loss in a bid to cling to power. Sound familiar?... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reporters don't need his permisson to take a photo of the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial, as long as they are not on the job... Kirkland and Ellison lawyers need some negotiating tips. 
Shareholder activitism is poised to hit an all-time high for 2025... Kamala Harris’ “107 Days” reads like an autospsy of her failed presidential run. Democrats need to look forward, not backward... The Reagan Foundation dishonored The Gipper by providing PR cover to tariff-loving Trump.
