NEWS AND OPINION:
It is, perhaps, one of the smartest and most sparkling events of the year. That would be the Media Research Center’s 35th Anniversary Gala, which is fast approaching.
The conservative press watchdog has staged this black-tie gathering since 1987 in the nation’s capital. It features a grand cocktail hour, a sumptuous dinner and an unbeatable speaker’s program which lauds those who stand up for conservative media programming and notable commentary.
The theme of this year’s gathering is “Night of the Unwoke” and the attendees include politicians, pundits, media personalities and smart activists.
“The gala draws a proverbial who’s who in the conservative movement, all to honor The Media Research Center and its history of making life miserable for the left,” the organization explained in a statement.
“To mark our ascent from humble beginnings in the fall of 1987, our founder and president Brent Bozell is putting on an evening intended to offend the humorless, politically correct crowd every which way possible. We will mercilessly mock the worst examples of wokeism in politics and culture today,” the center said in a statement.
“The Night of the Unwoke will be an event highlighting the cancel culture that the left has spent years encouraging. Our honorees include those who have fallen victim to the left’s incessant trolling and vicious behavior,” the group noted.
The big night is Sept. 21, the place is the grand National Building Museum — which was built of terracotta, stone and 15.5 million bricks between 1882-1887.
The general reception begins at 6 p.m. Eastern, with the dinner and program at 7 p.m. Among the featured speakers: nationally syndicated radio host Chris Plante; syndicated columnist Cal Thomas; Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; James Golden aka “Bo Snerdley,” Rush Limbaugh’s former executive producer and now host of “Bo Snerdley’s Rush Hour” on WABC in New York; and Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States Foundation.
For tickets and more information, visit MRC.org/Gala or call the organization at 571/267-3500.
SECURITY-MINDED IN ALASKA
Now up and running: The Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies — named after the late Republican senator from Alaska and located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
“The Stevens Center will further focus our strategic thinking about the Arctic. It will help us turn ideas into concepts, concepts into action, and action into results,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, in a statement.
Both senators sponsored the initiative to create the center in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. The center also won praise from retired Air Force Gen. Randy “Church” Kee, a senior adviser for Arctic security affairs at the center; Michael Sfraga, chair and distinguished fellow of the Polar Institute and chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission; Catherine Stevens, widow of the late senator; and Julie Kitka, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives.
TRUMP ‘RAID’ A NEWS BONANZA
August has traditionally been labeled a slow news month, because the press, lawmakers, the president, and assorted big shots usually take time away from the political battleground.
Things are a little more busy than usual right now in the press however, following the recent FBI visit to the private home of former President Donald Trump.
There’s lots to cover, and lots to say apparently. Here are a few headlines of note from the last 48 hours:
“Trump calls for seized documents to be returned to Mar-a-Lago” (New York Post); “4 misconceptions about the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home” (Business Insider); “Republicans are rallying around Trump following the FBI raid. That’s good news for Biden” (NBC News); “FBI took 11 sets of classified material from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home while investigating possible Espionage Act violations” (CNN); “Top-secret documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago: What we know” (New York Magazine); and “Don’t blast Trump for pleading the Fifth” (Bloomberg News).
AND ONE MORE TAKE
Fox News explored a different angle of the aforementioned Mar-a-Lago matter.
“Russian state media outlets have been offering words of support for Former President Donald Trump amid the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in an attempt to sow discord in the U.S.,” the network said in an analysis on Sunday.
“The Russians understand that Donald Trump is a hot button in America and they use their narratives to foment discord and amplify tensions in our country,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News.
“The comments come after multiple Russian media outlets have expressed support for Trump in the days since the FBI raid on his home, with both Izvestia and RenTV arguing over the weekend that the raid was designed to prevent Trump from running for president in 2024,” the network noted in the analysis.
“Russian outlets have also been reporting that Moscow has already been reading top secret documents that were taken from Mar-a-Lago, while some have been speculating on whether the former president will face jail time. Koffler argued that the Russian outlets have seized on the raid at the direction of the Kremlin,” the analysis said.
POLL DU JOUR
• 75% of registered U.S. voters are not satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. today.
• 71% do not see any signs that the nation’s economy “has started to turn the corner and the worst is over.”
• 70% think life for the next generation of Americans will be worse than life today.
• 64% disapprove of the job Republicans in Congress are doing.
• 58% disapprove of the job Democrats in Congress are doing.
• 55% disapprove of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing.
SOURCE: A Fox News poll of 1,002 registered U.S. voters conducted Aug. 6-9.
• Helpful information to jharper @washingtontimes.com.
