Anchorage Daily News just hit a new low

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By DAN FAGAN

It’s no secret the Anchorage Daily News is run by men and women of the Left. The paper’s bias against conservative ideas and values is glaring, blunt, and obvious. And like most Left-leaning media members, they don’t care much for our president. 

The ADN recently ran a political cartoon promoting the debunked story claiming President Donald Trump cancelled a trip to visit the Aisne-Marine American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 because he doesn’t respect our fallen soldiers.

The publication, The Atlantic, alleged Trump didn’t want to visit the cemetery where fallen American soldiers were buried because he believed the cemetery was “filled with losers.” 

The story was based on anonymous sources. Of course, it was.  

Trump denied ever saying it and at least 15 administration officials who were with the president on that trip and in the meeting when the comments apparently happened dispute the president ever said such a thing.

Even former National Security Advisor John Bolton, often a harsh critic of the president, said Trump never said what the Atlantic said he did. 

And recent public record requests show the trip to the cemetery was cancelled because of weather. Not because the president considers our fallen soldiers “losers.” 

And now even the Atlantic editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, admits key details of the story could be untrue. When CNN asked Goldberg about the mounting evidence disproving his story he responded: “I’m sure those things are true.” 

The Atlantic story based on “anonymous sources” is one of what has become almost daily so-called bombshell stories paraded out by the Trump loathing media designed to make the president look like the most despicable human ever to live.

Expect more and expect them to intensify in ugliness, implausibility, and absurdity. And expect the ADN to play right along in the charade and further propagate the smear campaign. 

Why would a local paper in a state where Trump won by almost 15 points join a campaign to do anything and everything to destroy him. Because like most Leftists, they hate the president so much, they can’t help themselves. They run with any story no matter how preposterous desperately hoping it’s true. 

The cartoon the ADN ran promoting the Atlantic hit piece on the president is truly disgusting. It shows Trump, looking like he weighs 400 pounds, standing in front of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

It’s based on the iconic image of the second flag-raising on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War Two. The memorial is dedicated to the Marine dead of all wars and their comrades of other services who fell beside them. 

The cartoon shows the memorial with the words: “losers, dopes, and suckers” spray-painted on it. It also shows Trump standing in front of the memorial with a can of spray paint in his hand with the caption: “I’m more into honoring Confederate heroes.” 

Someone I trust told me they once confronted ADN owner Ryan Binkley about why the paper is still so liberal considering his family has been for years active in promoting and advancing the conservative agenda in the state.

Binkley said it was a business decision only. He believed most of the paper’s subscribers were liberal and if the ADN were more balanced, they’d lose their subscription base which is the main source of their revenue.

It is true Leftists don’t like to be exposed to anything that challenges their beliefs. The Left, much more than the Right, tend to base their beliefs on how they make them feel. Leftists are typically emotionally tied to their beliefs while the right is more logical.  When you challenge a Leftist for what they believe, you are threatening their very identity. It’s why they typically get so angry when confronted with their insanity.

The question for non-Leftist Alaskans is: why support or subscribe to a paper, that for business purposes is advancing an ideology that brings destruction, poverty, and misery everywhere it’s practiced? 

Dan Fagan hosts the number one rated morning drive radio show, weekdays between 5:30 and 8 am on Newsradio 650 KENI. He splits his time between Anchorage and New Orleans.   

49 COMMENTS

  1. The story was corroborated by several media outlets including FOX news. The reporters know the identities of the sources, but they are protecting their identities. And if the story were false, why haven’t Kelly, Mattis, Dunford and Milly come out to refute it?

    • The number of on the record people who were with the President on that trip who dispute the scurrilous Atlantic hit piece is now up to 21. It’s difficult to corroborate anonymous.

      • You should probably change the channel once in a while .
        You know if you started watching news instead of options you wouldn’t always be so far behind .. just sayin .

    • Please cite the references (links) that have supposedly verified the story. Or are you referring to the “corroboration” that resulted in the false story in the first place?

      • Jennifer Griffin of FOX news independently corroborate the report. You can read about it on her twitter feed @JenGriffinFNC. And here’s the story from the Associated Press who also independently corroborated the story.

        apnews.com/b823f2c285641a4a09a96a0b195636ed

        Also, WaPo, CNN and NYT. Here’s a good story if you want to learn more:

        apnews.com/b823f2c285641a4a09a96a0b195636ed

        • From the article “A senior Defense Department official with firsthand knowledge of events and a senior U.S. Marine Corps officer who was told about Trump’s comments” in other words, 2 anonymous sources, one of which ” had knowledge of the events” which events? Did the person directly hear the comment? Because if the person actually heard the comment this smear piece would definitely say so and this story is about many events one if which is the cancelation of the helicopter trip. The other person coobarating the comment was “told about the comment”. In other words hearsay, they heard someone else say it happened. Tist is the confirmation you are touring? Use some critical thinking. Once you realize that it is possible that the media isn’t always honest, then it becomes increasingly obvious when shady reporting techniques are used. These are professional smear merchants. They would not be vague if they had someone that actually heard the supposed comment. They definitely would say exactly that and not say “has knowledge of the events”.

        • I just independently corroborated the story myself, it’s all true, checks out, thoroughly vetted. Continue not criticizing the people who display virulent hatred in their animosity for the duly elected president, who let their raw and blind anger color, sway, characterize, influence, and rule their rhetoric. Continue supporting the ideology that has destroyed wealth and prosperity and happiness all over the world, and continue to eat your government cheese. Never-Trumpers are closed minded bigots, and would be brownshirts in 1930 Germany.

  2. The ADN is currently conducting a survey asking readers their opinions about the paper. Completing their survey might not accomplish much, but complaining on sympathetic (right leaning) websites is guaranteed not to influence them at all. For the time being, I subscribe to this sorry excuse of a paper solely for the local content, but have recently changed the subscription to the less costly digital version.

    api.secondstreetapp.com/m_c_t/26088829/124353678

    • And even the online version is way over priced. I also subscribe to the Arizona Republic, another liberal rag, on line and it only costs $5 a month. ADN-$14!!! But when ya have a monopoly on reporting state news, you can charge whatever you want.

  3. John Binkley was a RINO when he was State Senator from Bethel. Lyman Hoffman helped him get elected.

    Binkley campaigned for Hoffman, against me 20 years ago.

    So what’s new?

    • Johne Binkley never won an election outside of the Bethel area. He tried for governor and also tried to get appointed to the US Senate twice. No dice. With his main occupation, tourism, clearly in the tank for a few years, he will be sniffing around for other things. But he’s over his head with the ADN. That worthless rag will be running on ink fumes after the election.

  4. I held a little hope for the rag when I heard the Binkley’s were buying it. Then, nothing changed. I dropped my subscription years ago. Not sure it’s good enough for a birdcage liner.
    .
    To me it wouldn’t matter what President they depicted in this “cartoon”. I would still find it disgusting.

  5. The Atlantic calls to ‘end the Nobel Peace Prize’ following Trump nominations

    foxnews.com/media/the-atlantic-end-nobel-peace-prize-trump

    Kind of discredits anything that rag says about Trump as overtly biased drivel, doesn’t it?

    • I remember the Times. The Atwoods owned it, then Veco. Then the Daily News came in and ran the Times out of the news game. Then all the pricing went up and the newspaper business went to hell after that. Yes, the Anchorage Times was a great paper.

    • Like most publications, ADN requires ad revenue. That’s why I occasionally pick one up to see who advertises with them and remember to make sure not one penny of my $ goes to that enterprise.

    • The Anchorage Daily Times!

      I was a paperboy in the mid/late 70’s for them! $3.25/mo was the subscription rate if I remember correctly. I know I was paid in coins every week by Mr. Stanford, who would bring me the bundles every afternoon…..good “times” indeed!

  6. Thanks Suzanne for once again, getting the real truth out there. Most all reports (not even going to call it news) that come out of ADN is opinionated far left hyperbole. I would guarantee that most of those folks who write over there absolutely hate our President, and the ones who wrote/approved that cartoon, were not a veteran of any of our Armed Services.
    I shed a tear for our vets, in all wars when I see that kind of reporting. If you rolled back the clock some 50 or more years, that kind of reporting wouldn’t of transpired and if it did, those vets would of shed more than a tear on ADN for the disrespect.

  7. What is your source for “Atlantic editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, admits key details of the story could be untrue”? I found a lot of major lets reporting they could be better but I haven’t found one that says they might be untrue.

    • Exactly! Chris. These people are absolutely brainwashed buy a reality TV show host, who they think is fit to be president of the United States.
      He’s a crook, thief, habitual liar and a embarrassment to our country
      Good try Suzanne. Drink the bleach

      • Jason, you just described……Bill Clinton. And Joe Biden. And Barak Huessein. And Hillary. Thanks for being such an honest Democrat.

      • Ironic that you used “drink the bleach” without knowing that this was another lie that is being put out by the smear merchants. He never said anything close to drink the bleach. Hatred plus confirmation bias equals annoying levels of ignorance.

      • Now you’re the liar Jason, the drink was never said to be bleach. Oh that’s right, you’re one of those that hears from someone something that may have been said by someone about the president and as long as it’s bashing him it must be the “truth”. You have a future in journalism Jason!

    • I’m guessing it’s from where CNN even doubted the story, starting at about 2:15 until about 3:05 in the video

      youtube.com/watch?v=2lRyVzHdtfo

      But you already knew that since Mr. Fagan included that in the sentence after the one you quoted when he wrote “And now even the Atlantic editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, admits key details of the story could be untrue. When CNN asked Goldberg about the mounting evidence disproving his story he responded: “I’m sure those things are true.” “. You see, if “those things” Mr. Goldberg mentioned are true then key details of his story could very easily be untrue. Seriously even CNN doubts his story…CNN!

    • And then there’s this “Claims that, by now, have been denied by 21 people overall, and over a dozen who had first-hand knowledge of events that took place during the trip in question.
      The Atlantic has four nameless sources, while the President has the following backing him up:”

      thepoliticalinsider.com/atlantic-editor-admits-main-point-of-trump-hit-piece-could-be-wrong-21-officials-go-on-the-record-to-refute-story/?fbclid=IwAR0Ff0iNpKtxRwIhuJZ_Is5XumkjT-oqmOih_IIs7Ki6npL5AlN7ROuaa88

  8. Trump has done more for the military Vets and the VA than any other president. Trump I became a Trump supported as soon as he brought home the Vietman MIA/POWs. Trump 2020 and beyond.

  9. This really makes me angry.
    Right after Ryan Binkley took over the paper several of us met with him and showed a cartoon that was just as bad. It actually works as a terrible cartoon about Christians.
    It seems the Ryan continues to listen to the liberals around him or in fact he is just as liberal. Was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but no more!

    • Ryan doesn’t run anything without his dad’s (Johne Binkley) approval. Never has, never will. Very disturbing that they would end up this way. His grandparents, Captain Jim and Mary Binkley, were stalwart conservative Republicans and business owners. This is what happens to the subsequent generation, who get everything handed to them with no personal financial risks. Guaranteed wealth, straight from the womb.

  10. It’s quite likely that must read alaska is not up to journalistic standards if they don’t know how sources work. Why would you trust anything they write if they don’t honor source sanctanimity?

  11. The epidemic of anonymous sources for stories which later are proven untrue has ruined the creadabilty of the 4th estate. The bias of most major media outlets is clear for anyone who can put thier own bias aside and examine the “stories” critically.

    • But it’s true! Birds aren’t real! I read it on the internet and the old guys at the morning BS coffee table at the restaurant heard it too! That’s good enough for ADN.

  12. So you use “someone I trust” as your anonymous source…..pot meet kettle.
    How do we know the person you “trust” is telling the truth.

  13. Well of course this would be completely unbelievable for a President to make such horrendous general comments about veterans. He usually is more specific like when he said he thought John McCain was a loser because he was captured while serving his country. I suppose those dedicated to Donald under any circumstances will need to fabricate a story about how the left-wing media conspiracy altered a video because there certainly couldn’t be proof that Donald is anything but a good guy trying to Make America Great Again.
    And I might note, a considerable number of life-long Republicans will be voting for Joe Biden because Donald is such a vacant soul and broken man that he can’t get past his own narcissism to care about all Americans. Oh boy, what crazy, liberal nut jobs Geoge Will, David Brooks, George Conway, Arnold Schwartzneger and hundreds of other loyal Republicans have become!!

  14. It’s amazing to me that so called “adults” are making their presidential voting choice based on a personality popularity contest instead of the candidates platform and what they’ve actually done to complete their platform. Trump made promises and despite the tremendous opposition, he has made good. Biden has had 47 years of promises and what exactly has he accomplished for the American people? This isn’t junior high! I don’t like Trumps bedside manor, but I wouldn’t choose my heart surgeon because he was a nice guy! In Joe Biden’s words “Come on man!”

  15. I quit reading the ADN and buying it because they were not fair and balanced. I had been a long time subscriber to both ADN and the Anchorage Times in the day, I want news, not propaganda. I’m rather fond of Channel 11 news as a source, it’s rather limited in content but they do have a good news team. I like Channel 2 too. The comment sections aren’t so censored and ideas and opinions can be shared with debate and discourse without anyone feeling like they will be banned for having an unpopular opinion.

  16. I find it ironic that this is the published piece used to call out biased journalism. Facts have been willfully omitted in order to further the writer’s point and he makes no attempts to hide his own biases. This is nothing more than an opinion.

    • This is rich, Mallory. You are criticizing an opinion writer for opining on an opinion published by the Anchorage Daily News, which willfully omits facts all the time to further its agenda. And to top it all off, you further criticize Fagan by saying he “makes no attempt to hide his own biases. This is nothing more than an opinion.” I don’t know how to insert those laughing emojis but I’d put in a dozen of those right about now if I could. Thank you. You’ve totally made my day, you are so funny.

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