The Continuing Attack on "Fake News."

            At an event honoring outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Hillary Clinton claimed that “fake news” represents a “danger” that must be “addressed quickly.”  She stated the, “epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda” could have “real-world consequences,” and  “Lives are at risk.”  She informed us that bipartisan legislation is working its way through Congress and Silicon Valley is starting to “grapple” with fake news.  Many in the media have suggested that “fake news” may have swayed voters in the recent election.

            The irony of criticizing “fake news” at an event honoring Harry Reid was lost on the former Secretary of State.  Harry Reid is possibly the biggest purveyor of “fake news” in the entire Congress.  He takes pride in this distinction.  He routinely hears voices that tell his disparaging things about his opponents.  They are of course anonymous.  When questioned about his false claim that Mitt Romney failed to pay taxes for ten years, Reid stated, “I don't regret that at all.”  When it was suggested that his smear of Romney echoed the tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Reid responded with a smile, "Romney didn't win, did he?"

            Clinton is correct when she says, “Lives are at risk.”  How many people have died as a result of the media’s distorted portrayal of the Trayvon Martin case?  The liberal media has made an art form of “fake news.”   Some of its stories border on the surreal. In 1989 when John Tower was nominated to be Secretary of Defense rumors about his drinking and sexual affairs were common.  One story involved Tower dancing on a piano with a Russian ballerina while they disrobed.  This was reported by Leslie Stahl on CBS even though the FBI had reported they had reason to believe it was not true.  A day prior to the hearings Bob Woodward reported that Tower had been drunk at Bergstrom Air Force Base.  Tower was not confirmed and the next day it turned out that Woodward’s source was discharged from the Air Force for psychiatric reasons.  

            The “fake news” story of the day surrounds the charges of child molestation or pizzagate.  The charges are so outrageous that they cannot possibly be true.  However, the panicked reaction of politicians and media raise questions.  Otto von Bismarck once said, "Nothing is proven until it is officially denied."  Stranger things have happened.  Who would have believed that Dennis Hastert or Larry Craig had such sordid pasts.