The Morning Briefing: Is Northam In or Out and Much, Much More

Good Monday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s schedule today:

The president receives his intelligence briefing
President Trump has lunch with the vice president

Patriots win the Superbowl!

Love the Pats! What did you think of the halftime show? The commercials?

If you missed the advertisements, the Daily Caller has a nice rundown of what messages were being promoted during the game.

Love you, Tom! Patriots QB Tom Brady: ‘it feels great to win’

Red Sox congratulate Patriots for ending Boston’s 3-month championship drought

WaPo spends major coin during the Super Bowl for commercial celebrating themselves

Are you surprised? I guess the media industry is trying to rehabilitate its image after decades of garbage tabloid reporting that has resulted in a #fakenews reputation.

The ad, which was narrated by actor Tom Hanks, aired during the fourth quarter of the contest between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.

“When we go off to war. When we exercise our rights. When we soar to our greatest heights,” Hanks says as the ad shows images of the World War II D-Day invasion and the first moon landing, among others. “When we mourn and pray. When our neighbors are at risk. When our nation is threatened.

“There’s someone to gather the facts. To bring you the story. No matter the cost. Because knowing empowers us.Knowing helps us decide. Knowing keeps us free,” Hanks concludes as the commercial blares the newspaper’s slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

Who are they talking about? Gather facts? Does this sound like the WaPo to you?

The Washington Post’s union leader was not happy about the ad buy. Writes the Daily Caller, “The Washington Post is facing stiff resistance from the paper’s union head for purchasing what some believe could be a $10 million Super Bowl ad extolling the virtues of journalism in a functioning democracy.”

1) The Post is now paying, say, $5M/30 seconds to tout journalistic freedom during one of the glitziest and – given the NFL’s knee-taking protests and concussions – more controversial sports events in our country #superbowl #wapostrong

— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) February 2, 2019

The 60-second ad comes as hundreds of journalists are losing their jobs amid mass media layoffs. CBS is charging roughly $5 million for a 30-second ad during the Sunday’s game — so a 60-second ad would cost more than $10 million, according to some reports.

Oh.

“While I too am extremely proud of the Post and its legacy,” Kunkle said. “[T]his seems like an especially infuriating expense for a company that has: a) tried to take health care insurance from part-time employees b) moved everyone toward riskier forms of health insurance.”

He added: “c) made it easier to lay people off d) cut their severance e) frozen their pensions and resisted the smallest enhancements to remaining retirement benefits until Sen. Bernie Sanders shamed it into doing so.”

Yikes, what a bunch of assholes.

Verizon Super Bowl ads honor California firefighters after throttling their data speeds

Will he stay or will he go?

Will the embattled, pro-infanticide, alleged blackface-wearing governor of Virginia resign or will he continue to dig in his heels?

According to reports, Democrat Northam called an “abrupt senior staff meeting” last night. The late-night meeting

…is taking place currently and… Northam has not made a final decision on whether or not to resign. The meeting included senior staffers of color, The Post noted, adding that it is unclear who else is in the meeting. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, next in line to the governor, was not in attendance.

A picture surfaced from 35 years ago in Northam’s med school yearbook that showed someone, presumably Northam since it was on Northam’s page, dressed up in blackface standing next to a someone in a Ku Klux Klan uniform. Or it could be Northam in the Klan get-up. At first, Northam admitted it was him and then later denied it. Every Democrat in the world is calling for him to resign… over the racial incident, not the infanticide, obviously.

Should someone lose their job over something they did 35 years ago? Or does it depend on what they did? Let me know in the comments.

Northam apologized on Friday after the image in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook first surfaced, saying the “behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service.”

But he said in a press conference on Saturday that he believes he was not in the photo that appeared in the yearbook.

“When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo,” he said.

That’s kind of strange. How did that picture get on your page and why did you leave this racially charged mistake on your page for more than three decades? Stay tuned to see what happens.

Democrat party divided on BDS legislation

A new bill is causing some strife within the Democrat party.

Legislation designed to shield Israel from boycotts is dividing House Democrats, pitting those who want to protect their Middle Eastern ally against liberal lawmakers voicing concerns that the very concept tramples the right to free speech.

The issue could pose a dilemma for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who’s seeking to keep her party united in the face of blistering attacks from Republicans hoping to use the controversial proposal to divide Democrats — and drive Jewish voters to the GOP’s side.

I love how the ACLU is selectively indignant about civil liberties.

My good friend Omri Ceren asks a good question:

Why would opposing anti-Semitic boycotts against Israel tear the Democratic Party apart? https://t.co/065gsVWaV5

— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) February 3, 2019

Historical picture of the day:

This was the scene in Chicago’s Loop Feb. 4, 1977, following the crash of a Chicago Transit Authority elevated train. Three cars of the eight-car train fell to the pavement, killing several passengers and injuring scores of others. (AP Photo)

Other morsels:

Trump spent 60 percent of working hours in unstructured “executive time” in past 3 months: Report

Impeachment Expert Is Convinced Mueller Report Won’t See Light of Day

A Lost Monastery Might Be Hiding Beneath An English Bus Station, Archaeologists Say

‘Unconscionable’: GOP Senate Homeland Security chair torches Trump’s Syria policy

More troops heading to border as Trump weighs national emergency

‘I Fought the F**k Back’: Jussie Smollett Makes First Stage Appearance After Alleged Racist, Homophobic Attack

Power restored after protests held outside NYC correctional facility with limited heat

Cow shot after charging police officer following escape from slaughterhouse

More than 40 mummies discovered in Egypt

20,000 homes at risk in Australia floods as crocodiles, snakes wash up

Venezuela’s Maduro says Trump making mistakes that will ‘stain his hands with blood’