I'm running out of entertainment options here!

I stopped watching the mainstream media, for the most part. It's a rare occasion I watch network or cable television. Why did I stop? Left leaning agendas that I could not stomach were making their way into most every broadcast show. But there was Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube and several other options. 

Amazon Prime is grotesquely woke, I never watch it, even though there were shows on there I wouldn't mind seeing, I can't support it. Jeff Bezos is a leftist and it has infected the entire Amazon Prime platform. It's exactly what happened to CNN; Ted Turner's leftward bias could not be held out of it's newscasts, and now like a plague, it's infected every corner of the company. Bezos has stepped away from the day to day of Amazon but Amazon is already what it is, a progressive platform. So it's out.

YouTube is a Google platform that's even further left than Amazon.  It's become my number one source of entertainment but the content creators I watch have been squeezed out slowly and systematically by YouTube. That's not to mention that despite the heavy leftward bias of Google and YouTube, YouTube has fallen heavily in love with a ridiculous volume of commercials. It's unwatchable from that perspective. I find myself on YouTube less and less and have become much more selective. From 6 to 12 seconds of ads to 60 seconds of unskippable ads every few minutes is not sustainable. It isn't for me at least. And I'm certainly not going to subscribe to a platform where all my favorite content providers are treated like dirt through shadow-banning, shadow-unsubscribing, ad revenue racketeering or through some other means.

Disney+ was a non-starter for me. ABC is ultra-woke, Disney itself has gone ultra-woke, so why would I buy into that to begin with?  The platform as it turns out, unsurprisingly, is also ultra-woke.

The last refuge? Netflix. Netflix has not been any sort of paragon of neutrality they have worked with the Obama's, trashed history, presented ultra-woke content, etc. But they did have some decent content as well.

 That unfortunately has fallen to the wayside for me in light of this:

I can't support Netflix any more.

So now where do I go? Gaming?  Too late, already woke. Rumble? Good platform, not enough critical mass. Fox? Not terrible but it has been slipping since 2020 and Rupert Murdoch's handoff to his kids. X? It's been great since Elon Musk took over, retreating from the uber-woke status, but it isn't a big content provider. It should be, it should become one, Tucker Carlson's show has been great, but the platform needs more; it has the potential to become more.  Facebook? Despite Mark Zuckerberg's recent 'miraculous' (suspicious) turn towards libertarianism, the platform is not really a content platform.  It's more just a big pile of mess. And the platform is not libertarian by any stretch.

I'm running out of entertainment options here! Seems to me a wise person who is either conservative or at least unconcerned about politics, and who had enough capital to do something about my current conundrum, would recognize that it is likely a massively common problem. There is a huge opportunity to create an entertainment platform that is not woke, and is simply concerned about quality content for it's audience. It would thrive. Advertisers may be woke but eyeballs mean money. YouTube knows this as I mentioned above.  That's why despite being woke, they pepper us with ads. The new entertainment platform would not go broke. It would thrive. 

Just saying.

An explanation

Once again I have a lot going on with my day job, my company was bought out by another and there's been a lot of transition work going on, both before and after the switchover. As a result I haven't been able to post as much in the way of my own thoughts as I'd like.  I've been leaning on videos by others and just adding some of my own thoughts quickly to it. It's been less than ideal, but this blog has always been a time permitting situation.  Nevertheless in previous years I have been able to still  manage 500 posts per year relying on that formula.

I don't expect that to change.  I just wanted to offer an explanation as to why my posts have been probably more reliant on videos by others of late as compared to earlier this year, where I tried to offer more exposition than in the past few years.  Early on in this blog's history it was mostly my own exposition. I sincerely wish to return to that and at some point this year, I believe it will be the case again.  Short term though, likely not.

Blogger has afforded me a platform, but not much of an income (I only make about $30-$50 per year from AdSense).  So while it is an enjoyable pursuit, a worthwhile pursuit, it's not a living.  Therefore, sadly, the day job must come first, at least until I retire.  

More frequent expositional posting will return, as soon as possible.

Uh oh (part 2)

An Estonia YouTuber who is not a fan of Russia, has been de-platformed thanks to Russian complaints. Even if you are against supporting Ukraine, this guy deserves a medal or at least your support.  That aside, Russian cyber warfare and maleficence is still a real thing, and we should all be concerned about that.

Rumble gets dragged under the swamp

Rumble, a free speech alternative to YouTube, is currently under a cyber attack. The swamp?  Google targeting a competitor?  Whatever, it doesn't matter. It's all part of the same swamp: the mainstream media, big tech and big government socialists. This is not good for liberty, not good for competition,  and not good for America.  These are all the things they are trying to snuff out.

YouTube's medical censorship

Dr. Berg gets censored by YouTube and apparently the World Health Organization. This matters to everyone, not just him. Dr. Berg explains why.

Project Veritas lashes out at James O'Keefe

On February 20, 2023, James O'Keefe was removed from his leadership position at Project Veritas, under a cloud of suspicious claims that have so far not been proven correct.  What's happened since then?  A fair bit actually.  Most recently, Project Veritas has decided to sue it's founder James O'Keefe because apparently, he's winning:

The right-wing activist group Project Veritas filed a lawsuit Wednesday against its founder, James O'Keefe, alleging he violated his employment agreement by establishing a competing organization and wooing away donors while still on Project Veritas' payroll.

The organization is just butthurt that since his ouster that their YouTube videos have been lacklustre and failing to attract viewers in the numbers it did prior to his forced departure. O'Keefe's new organization, OMG, has not yet established the clout that Project Veritas once had, but it's only a few months old and already pulling in view that rival the substantially diminished Project Veritas. Same too for financial donations, which appear to have slowed substantially at Veritas.  

What did they expect would happen?  I don't know if James O'Keefe was unkind to Veritas employees, but even if he was, it seems like some intermediate step to a coup d'etat would prove wise, unless there were ulterior motives to the plot to remove him, which a lot of people are thinking was the case.

Last month, O'Keefe appeared with Megyn Kelly to talk about what happened, here's his take:

Whatever happens to O'Keefe, Veritas has shot itself in the foot and is probably headed down the same path as Bud Light.

The hand's on the other foot now Jack

Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, and far left activist Kool Aid drinker, is upset over something he wants to see being banned on YouTube.  Tim Pool discusses:

It's not actually suspicious, we know exactly why it's happening

A lot of the YouTube videos I've linked and shared on the Canadian Freedom Convoy truckers over the past weekend are systematically being "removed by the uploader".  Odd, but not really.  The word systematically is key.

How many ways is this wrong? Please comment.

I have an unfortunate relationship with Google and YouTube, as in one that exists.  Millions of people do.  So when their brain trust come up with stuff like this, you can't do much to prevent it, even though you are using their applications.

Why is this wrong?  I have plenty of my own thoughts, but please add your thoughts in the comments. It would be great to play with their algorithm on a video like this.  That's about the best form of protest I can come up with.

Breaking: Steven Crowder suspended from YouTube

 YouTube has suspended Crowder for a week over reporting on a story.

YouTube banning all anti-vax content?

 Censorship to ensure you do not question your overlords:

Obama-bashing is justified because he's anti-Israel.

I haven't felt any need to bash Obama for several years now because he is mostly irrelevant.  But it IS fun to watch these guys do it.  Also, I included this video because I've just recently discovered Krystal and Saagar and thought they deserved a shout out for their YouTube channel.

Youtube: Listen to Tim Pool's explanation of censorship

 Because you are doing it wrong.

A viral video about a problem that can be seen through many lenses

Johnny Harris is a YouTuber who makes some stunning quality videos on a weekly (approximately) basis.  I say stunning quality not because of the quality of video editing or videography (although those are quite good) but for the quality of the content.  Johnny Harris does journalism the way it's supposed to be done; classic journalism.

I felt not just compelled but obligated to share one of his most recent videos on the subject of Why McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken.  It's a video that needs to be seen for several reasons and through several lenses.

Watch the video below a few times.  First watch it through the lens of journalism.  Look at the extent he goes to in order to validate the claims he's heard.  It's as incredible as it is commendable.  Not only does he do his due diligence research, he tries to extricate opinion, including his own from fact, and exhorts the viewer to do some investigation of their own (all while warning that doing it to the extent he did is probably not advisable). He even offers disclaimers where he feels opinions are turning up in his video.

The man deserves an award for his efforts (and this video is just one example of that).  Contrast what he does with how the mainstream media operates and the dysfunction should become pretty obvious if you are a conservative (less so if you are a raging progressive, but at least try to find something to compare it against).  Mainstream media is rife with laziness.  It is more than 50% (often far, far more)  opinion journalism and not reporting, let alone investigation.

But I've droned on too long already.  Watch the video and I'll suggest some other lenses through which to view it afterwards.

Was I right?  He even goes beyond the surface explanation was offered everywhere else.  Why?  Because it seemed far to cut and dry.  There's another lens to view this video through - skepticism.  The skepticism present in this video should inspire the viewer's skepticism in not just the same subject, but every subject - including his videos.  By not being self-serving, he actually is being self-serving because it inspires your trust as well as your skepticism. It can do both. CNN cannot claim the same and deserves far more skepticism than you afford Johnny Harris.

Now think about crony capitalism and why it stifles innovation and hurts small businesses and consumers.  This sort of counter-productive activity is being encouraged by a big business and this is just one instance. There are cozy companies being just as lazy and counter-productive as journalists. Laziness and self-serving self-interest are two distinguishing features of crony capitalism.  And crony capitalism is not limited big business; it infects government.  Bureaucracies like the IRS or the EPA that exists to feed themselves and grow themselves are not above working with Democrats who want to do the same, or big business who want to use legislation to stifle competition. It's ubiquitous as well as nefarious.

American society seems to be on an unalterable path towards an oligopoly of a few big businesses and big government, a path that inevitably leads to dictatorial fascism.  A Road To Serfdom (mandatory reading for the uninitiated) indeed. This is why we need to follow Rules For Patriots and prevent it.  This stuff truly matters - far more than your YouTube playlist, or when the next season of Stranger Things will be on Netflix.  And this brings us back to Johnny Harris and his citizen  activism.  He's doing something and trying to point out things that matter in order to stop them from happening or from continuing.  You should be doing the same.

Or at least due yourself this service: Question what you are told, question the motivation of the teller. Think for yourself and ask critical questions. 

Is YouTube the new CNN with their Rose Colored Glasses?

 YouTube is a disgrace.  They are hiding this guy's massive dislike count.

More on the Crowder situation

 Crowder Bits, the workaround for the YouTube ban.

If you disagree with YouTube, you are banned.  That does not sound like a platform, it sounds like a publisher.

UPDATE: And the Bits got banned too...

Crowder considered spam on YouTube???

YouTube is retargeting Crowder.

UPDATE:  Aaaaannnd Banned.  Right on cue.

YouTube deleting dislikes for Democrat

 Via Steven Crowder, YouTube has been deleting dislikes from Not-My-president videos:

Crowder suing Facebook

With the odds stacked against any sort of success, I still applaud Steven Crowder's move. This is an important exercise and with the Big Tech oligopoly aligned against Reddit users, conservative voters and in general anybody but themselves, this is important.  

The deletions are growing.

Things are steamrolling ahead. They are getting worse by the day.  Now YouTube is blocking president Trump now.

They want to put prominent Republicans on the No Fly list.

 

Prominent Republicans are being censored on Facebook:

It's hard not to think this is the beginning of the Great Reset. It might not be.  But if it isn't it is a Democrat party and government beaurocracy bent on revenge and convinced they are enabled by 90% of the American public.  As the deletions grow, so does the anger.  Democrats are blindly playing with fire as they enflame suspicion and frustration.