SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

NO SHOCK HERE – FROM NEWSBUSTERS:   In the twelve weeks since the party conventions concluded in late July, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has received significantly more broadcast network news coverage than his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, but nearly all of that coverage (91%) has been hostile, according to a new study by the Media Research Center (MRC).  In addition, the networks spent far more airtime focusing on the personal controversies involving Trump (440 minutes) than about similar controversies involving Clinton (185 minutes). Donald Trump’s treatment of women was given 102 minutes of evening news airtime, more than that allocated to discussing Clinton’s e-mail scandal (53 minutes) and the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play scandals (40 minutes) combined.  Not surprised at all.  The press has returned to 19th-century patterns.  News organizations now advance political agendas, almost all of them on the left.

THIS IS JUSTICE? – FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:    The Justice Department has replaced the New York team of agents and lawyers investigating the death of Eric Garner, officials said, a highly unusual shake-up that could jump-start the long-stalled case and put the government back on track to seek criminal charges.  Mr. Garner, 43, died in 2014 on a Staten Island street corner, where two police officers confronted him and accused him of selling untaxed cigarettes. One of the officers, Daniel Pantaleo, was seen on a video using a chokehold, prohibited by the New York Police Department, to subdue him. Mr. Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry for protesters around the country.  Federal authorities have been investigating whether officers violated Mr. Garner’s civil rights in his fatal encounter with the police. But the case had been slowed by a dispute because federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials in New York opposed bringing charges, while prosecutors with the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department in Washington argued there was clear evidence to do so.  Apparently, Obama's crew at the Department of Justice didn't get the result they wanted from an honest investigation, so they changed the investigators.  They must long for the old Soviet Union.

HIGH REGARD FOR POLICE – FROM CNS:   The percentage of Americans who say they have a “great deal” of respect for the police in their area has climbed to 76 percent—just one percentage point shy of the all-time high of 77 percent recorded 49 years ago, according to a Gallup poll released today.  Respect for the police has increased over the past year among Americans of differing racial groups, ideologies, political affiliations and age, according to data published in a Gallup analysis.  Since 1965, Gallup has asked this question nine times: “How much respect do you have for the police in your area—a great deal, some, or hardly none?”  The first time Gallup asked it--in a survey conducted April 2-7, 1965—70 percent said they had a great deal of respect for the police, 22 percent said they had some respect, and 4 percent said they had hardly any, and 4 percent said they had no opinion.  It's good to see this.  Yes, there are some bad cops, but most do a fine job, and risk their lives every time they stop a driver or knock on a front door.

October 25, 2016