Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread 16 August 2026

As always, soliciting FReeper comments, observations, and opinions.

1 posted on 08/16/2026 4:58:44 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!

To: acapesket; A.Hun; aligncare; altura; bagster; Bernard; bray; BreezyDog; Calpublican; cajungirl; ...

This is the Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread Ping List! If you want to be on it, reply to this post or FReepmail me (in case I miss it). If you want to be taken off, simply send me a FReepmail.

From my AI discussion:

The Talk Shows – The Butcher’s Thumb
Sunday, August 16, 2026

General Mood: The media landscape is in narrative‑protection mode. Too many uncomfortable stories are emerging at once: Fauci’s diary and the Senate contempt vote, the Democrats’ DSA burden and Wisconsin primary irregularities, and the WNBA’s inability to define “woman.” Rather than confront any of these, the Sunday shows lean heavily on familiar tactics — “safe” Republicans like Bill Cassidy, symbolic segments like an Air Force One panel, and panels that reinforce the preferred storyline. Expect a lot of talk about “norms,” “democracy,” and “stability,” and very little about institutions failing at their most basic functions.

FACE THE NATION (CBS) – Margaret Brennan
Guests: Gov. Andy Beshear (D–KY); Rep. Don Bacon (R–NE); State Rep. Christopher Rabb (D–PA); Anthony Salvanto, CBS News Polling Director.

Beshear will be positioned as the steady Democrat governor offering moderation and competence. Bacon will serve as the “workable Republican,” gently nudged into agreeing with the host’s framing on national unity and institutional trust. Rabb will bring the progressive viewpoint, though CBS will avoid labeling it as part of the broader DSA drift inside the party. Salvanto’s polling will reinforce CBS’s preferred narrative about voter sentiment and electoral direction. Missing entirely will be any discussion of the Democrats’ internal ideological fractures or the growing tension between establishment leadership and activist wings.

Verdict: A polished hour that presents balance on the surface while quietly normalizing the Democrats’ internal drift and using polling to shape viewer perception.

FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox) – Shannon Bream
Guests: Attorney General Todd Blanche; Donna Rotunno, criminal defense attorney; Charles Payne, financial analyst; Clay Travis, commentator. Panel: Mary Katharine Ham; Josh Kraushaar; Reince Priebus; Juan Williams.

Blanche and Rotunno will provide legal perspectives on prosecutions and institutional weaponization. Payne will give grounded economic analysis, offering viewers a clearer picture of inflation, markets, and household strain. Travis may touch on cultural issues, including the WNBA’s definitional crisis. The panel blends establishment GOP, media analysis, and Williams’ consistent Democrat‑aligned framing. The show will offer more substance than the legacy networks but may still treat issues as isolated rather than part of a broader institutional pattern.

Verdict: Informative and more balanced than most, but still hesitant to fully connect lawfare, economic pressure, and cultural instability into a single coherent picture.

MEET THE PRESS (NBC) – Kristen Welker
Guests: Attorney General Todd Blanche; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D–NY); Rep. Ro Khanna (D–CA). Panel: Sara Fagen; Jeh Johnson; Jonathan Martin.

Blanche will be pressed into defending legal positions under moralistic framing. Jeffries will present the Democrats as unified and stable, despite the growing DSA burden. Khanna will offer progressive viewpoints treated as mainstream rather than activist‑aligned. The panel — Fagen, Johnson, Martin — will remain firmly within the MSNBC worldview, where institutional failures are minimized and political contradictions are reframed as Republican fault. No mention will be made of Wisconsin primary irregularities or missing vote data.

Verdict: A controlled hour focused on reinforcing institutional legitimacy while avoiding any discussion of internal Democrat fractures or election‑procedure vulnerabilities.

THIS WEEK (ABC) – George Stephanopoulos / Martha Raddatz
Guests: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R–LA); Sen. Ed Markey (D–MA); Rep. Seth Moulton (D–MA); Luke Bronin (D–CT). Air Force One panel: Ann Compton; Col. Steve Ganyard (ret.); Dan Lamothe. Panel: Donna Brazile; Jay O’Brien; Ramesh Ponnuru; Susan Page.

Cassidy appears yet again, serving as the “safe Republican” who reinforces institutional narratives and avoids challenging the host’s framing. Markey and Moulton will present Massachusetts’ progressive priorities, while Bronin offers a municipal Democrat perspective. The Air Force One panel is not a news necessity — it is a symbolic, Trump‑adjacent segment designed to critique optics and “norms” while avoiding substantive stories like Fauci’s diary, the Senate contempt vote, DSA fractures, Wisconsin irregularities, or the WNBA crisis. The main panel will present a veneer of balance while maintaining the preferred storyline: institutions are stable, and Trump remains the central threat.

Verdict: An hour that uses Cassidy and an Air Force One segment to fill time and reinforce narrative comfort, avoiding the week’s most consequential stories.

STATE OF THE UNION (CNN) – Jake Tapper / Dana Bash
Guests: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R–LA); Gov. Wes Moore (D–MD). Panel: Faiz Shakir; Scott Jennings; Daniella Gibbs Léger; Kristin Davison.

Cassidy’s second appearance of the morning underscores his role as the preferred “Republican validator” for both anti‑Trump framing and the legacy COVID narrative. As a physician who supported restrictions and vaccine rules, he provides institutional reassurance at a moment when Fauci’s diary and the Senate contempt vote raise serious questions. Moore will be framed as a rising Democrat leader focused on governance and stability. The panel leans heavily toward Democrat messaging, with Jennings offering limited counterbalance.

Verdict: A narrative‑reinforcement hour where Cassidy is deployed to stabilize viewer confidence in institutions facing growing scrutiny.

SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES (Fox Business) – Maria Bartiromo
Guests: Victoria Coates; Sen. Ron Johnson (R–WI); Rep. Jim Jordan (R–OH); Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R–NY).

Coates will connect Middle East developments to broader strategic trends. Johnson may address both budget realities and oversight issues, including the Fauci contempt vote. Jordan will highlight judiciary and oversight concerns, tying together lawfare, censorship, and institutional weaponization. Malliotakis will add perspective on governance and border issues. This show is the most likely to treat the week’s events as part of a larger institutional pattern rather than isolated incidents.

Verdict: The only show likely to connect global instability, institutional drift, and domestic oversight into a coherent narrative.

WHAT’S NOT BEING COVERED
1. The WNBA Crisis — A League Unable to Define “Woman”:
The WNBA met to address the issue of biological males attempting to enter the league and could not agree on a definition of “woman.” This is not a minor controversy — it is a foundational institutional failure. A league built on women’s sports cannot articulate the category that defines its existence. The media avoids this story because it forces confrontation with biological reality, competitive fairness, and ideological contradictions.

2. The DSA Burden and Wisconsin Governor’s Primary Irregularities:
The Democratic Party faces increasing strain from its DSA wing, whose policy goals diverge sharply from establishment leadership. This week saw significant discussion of internal fractures, but little honest coverage. Meanwhile, concerns emerged about the Wisconsin governor’s primary, where candidate Hong narrowly lost and reports surfaced of five missing USB sticks containing vote data. Regardless of intent, procedural irregularities should be a major story — yet the media avoids it to preserve the “elections are flawless” narrative.

3. Fauci’s Diary, the Senate Contempt Vote, and Cassidy’s Role:
The Senate held a contempt vote on Dr. Anthony Fauci, citing contradictions and withheld information. Fauci’s diary reportedly includes concerns about mRNA vaccine side effects, including miscarriage risk and long‑term unknowns. These revelations challenge the messaging of the COVID era. Cassidy, a physician who supported restrictions and vaccine rules, appears on two Sunday shows to reinforce institutional narratives and avoid revisiting the coercive and censorial aspects of pandemic policy.

Final Thumb: Today’s shows will focus on symbolic segments, familiar narratives, and Trump‑adjacent commentary while avoiding the week’s most consequential stories. A women’s league cannot define “woman.” A major party struggles with its activist wing and faces questions about missing vote data. The Senate holds a contempt vote on Fauci, whose diary raises serious concerns about mRNA risks. In response, the media deploys Bill Cassidy twice and fills airtime with an Air Force One panel. The real issue is not Trump’s plane — it is institutions that cannot confront their own failures, and a media ecosystem determined not to let viewers notice.

2 posted on 08/16/2026 5:00:08 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The greatest power the media has is the power to ignore.)

C-SPAN Radio, available on the net also, click here, broadcasts all five Sunday talk shows starting at 12:00 noon Eastern, as follows:

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM NBC's "Meet the Press"

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ABC's "This Week"

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM "Fox News Sunday"

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM CNN's "State of the Union"

4:30 PM - 5:00 PM CBS's "Face The Nation"

Listen at the link above WHILE you FReep! Also, Sharyl Attkinson’s Full Measure: Watch live at 9:30 EST.

Finally, each show has a YouTube presence, and you can easily watch them on YouTube any time after their live run!

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Next, here are the email addresses and Twitter/X pages--for commenting to the weekend talk shows:

Email: Meet the Press Meet the Press mailbox (web page for comments) Twitter/X: @MeetThePress @kwelkernbc

Email: Face the Nation facethenation@cbsnews.com Twitter/X: @FaceTheNation

Email: Fox News Sunday FNS@foxnews.com Twitter/X: @foxnewssunday

Email: ABC This Week thisweek@abc.com Twitter/X: @ThisWeekABC @GStephanopoulos

Email: CNN State of the Union CNN State of the Union (web page for comments) Twitter/X: @CNNSotu @JakeTapper

Email: Sunday Morning Futures Maria@FoxBusiness.com Twitter/X: @MariaBartiromo

3 posted on 08/16/2026 5:00:39 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The greatest power the media has is the power to ignore.)

“The Sunday Morning Bray”, by Bray!

Psalm 119:14 (King James Version)
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

How evil do you have to be to not tell pregnant women they are risking the lives of their babies by taking the Jab. While he was sending his flying monkeys out to harass anyone questioning his Science, he was hiding the fact women who took the shot in the first trimester were miscarrying at 82%. He is an evil ghoul of a man. All he had to do is tell pregnant women not to take it.

When he and his cohorts found babies were being aborted at over 80%, he added 700 unvaxed women to the sample to bring it down to 12%. This is why he was pleading the 5th since he expects there will be multiple lawsuits from women wanting retribution for being forced to take a shot they knew would kill their babies. He was basically forcing them to take the abortion pill without their knowing they took it. It borders on mass murder.

He could not let this information get out to the people or his entire fraud of the Safe and Effective would be questioned. If pregnant women could not take the shot, then why are kids and healthy people taking a shot for a flu bug? If the Experimental mRNA Gene Therapy, which failed all of its tests, could not be used then they would have to find something else. He couldn’t let Trump be right. What was the motivation other than money for them to use such a horrible shot?

What kind of man who is the head of the Infectious Disease Department could sink so low as to allow women to be devastated and their babies killed for what? So, you could be the star on the Establishmedia every day and call you a life saver of the country? This has to be so maniacal it is beyond comprehension.

My wife and I had a miscarriage of our first baby, and it destroys you for a year and questions whether you can have babies it is such a miracle to happen. It doesn’t matter if the child is two months or twenty years, you know it is a part of you, and you have all of those hopes and fears when the worst thing happens and you have to live with that loss.

Tony Fauxi had no problem with those thousands if not millions of babies being killed since he had to make the shot appear safe. All of those athletes dropping over dead were excused as hit the wrong way or fell and of course the runaway Died Suddenly infestation.

Just when you think the man could not be any lower of human debris you find out he knew new mothers were miscarrying from his shot and he heavily encouraged them to take it and have their newborns given shots too. All while he was overselling the risk of death by ten to twenty times so he could be the hero of the world. How pathetically sick do you have to be?

Who else knew about this since he was texting with other doctors who were axing the questions and especially after the study with thousands of women who had an 82% miscarriage rate. Why was that not exposed immediately by the medical world and shut down?

Did Oregon Health Sciences University know about these miscarriages since they ran the Oregon protocols and had all of the information? Did they have the slightest interest in side-effects or were they too busy hiding them to notice women who took the shot had more miscarriages than women who did not? Were they completely incompetent or so invested in the Experimental mRNA Gene Therapy politics they would let women have dead babies to win the argument against Trump, MAGA, and the Frontline Doctors?

When it comes to Communists believe the worst and hope for the best. Most of MAGA and the Frontline Doctors were writing about it and our group was talking about higher birth defects and sterilization so how could OHSU not know? They did know and they likely did not want to kill the Golden Goose, so they killed babies instead. It is no different than going to an abortion factory for a hardcore Dim, so they simply decided the ends justified the means and looked the other way.

Did Kotax know? As Speaker of the House you would think she would be all over the Vax and was the central issue during that time. Either you were on board or a Science Denier killing Grandma, so did she look the other way too if she found out? Was she told about it or the heart attacks and clots or turbo cancer? Is she in the slightest concerned about women who had miscarriages over her Party agreeing to force Oregonians to get the failed Experimental mRNA Gene Therapy procedure?

Obviously, Saint Fauxi did not care in the slightest about these tens of thousands if not millions of women, did OHSU or Tina Kotax care? Do they care now?

Pray for Women hurt by miscarriages

Note: The above opinion is not necessarily my own, but FReeper Bray’s. If you wish to discuss this, please ping Bray.

4 posted on 08/16/2026 5:01:27 AM PDT by Alas Babylon! (The greatest power the media has is the power to ignore.)

To: Alas Babylon!

Verdict: A polished hour that presents balance on the surface while quietly normalizing the Democrats’ internal drift and using polling to shape viewer perception.

Verdict: Informative and more balanced than most, but still hesitant to fully connect lawfare, economic pressure, and cultural instability into a single coherent picture.

Verdict: A controlled hour focused on reinforcing institutional legitimacy while avoiding any discussion of internal Democrat fractures or election‑procedure vulnerabilities.

Verdict: An hour that uses Cassidy and an Air Force One segment to fill time and reinforce narrative comfort, avoiding.

Verdict: A narrative‑reinforcement hour where Cassidy is deployed to stabilize viewer confidence in institutions facing growing scrutiny. the week's most consequential stories.

Verdict: The only show likely to connect global instability, institutional drift, and domestic oversight into a coherent narrative.

Excellent analysis gets better every week.!!

Whats not covered:

lots of stuff, Okeefe outs voter fraud in Minn.,mosques in England along with free stuff for illegals,Texas "learing" centers,a few more.

5 posted on 08/16/2026 5:12:43 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

To: Alas Babylon!

Meet the dePressed looks to be a promising hour of dumpster fire.

6 posted on 08/16/2026 5:19:34 AM PDT by Kudsman (4728)

Great stuff bud!

Fauci is an ace criminal and has been in on the con of the bio-weapon shots for decades. As early as 2000 he was submitting patents in his name for future use.

The shots were designed to destroy America and much of the world for the deepest of deep states. Fortunately for the U.S. and the world researchers here and elsewhere outed that the shots were snake venom and listed the true cures.

Unfortunately, cures like Ivermectin and Zinc are relatively cheap. The cabal of big pharma,doctors and hospitals can't make the big money they can by encouraging if not mandating patients/citizens get the shots.

Once shot,often three or four times, they are suspect to every conceivable disease know to man and often become prime "customers" for the big three:

Hospitals,Doctors and Big Pharma.

7 posted on 08/16/2026 5:27:44 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

Here's one I did a few minutes ago:

The muzzie takeover is here and its big and ready to take over.Here's what goes on in Texas.

But first here's the plan:

POI Data reported there are 122 mosques in Texas, with most being in the Houston and Fort Worth areas. The Halal Times puts the number higher at 224, ranking Texas with the fifth highest Muslim population at over 300,000.

This from X

Collin Rugg @CollinRugg

NEW: ‘Muslim City’ in Texas gets legal win after a judge ordered that the state must comply with developers.

The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC), which has now been rebranded to The Meadow, will feature 1,000 homes, a mosque, schools, and more.

(they need a pleasing name since anything with a muzzie name outs who they really are)

Texas leaders are worried that project leaders will begin imposing Sharia law.

Developers were just awarded a win when a Travis County Judge ordered that Texas state agency, Texas Workforce Commission, must comply with the agreed upon terms with the developer.

(Texas politics are allowing the muzzie invasion in Texas someone needs to find out who is getting paid big time:remember always follow the money)

The Texas Workforce Commission had argued that the project was under investigation.

“This development remains under active investigation with our federal partners at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We are taking immediate steps to appeal this decision,” the agency said.

JUST ANOTHER "LEARING" CENTER

8 posted on 08/16/2026 5:37:17 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

Should be an interesting bit of talking point spreading with a smattering of actual discussion. The way the media circles the wagons for Fauci reveals much about them, but as Brays brilliant essay points out there’s no issues with the jab given to pregnant women because the result was a defacto abortion, one of the lefts most revered sacraments. Then we also are treated to a segment where the media gets to show indignation at Trump for swapping out of AFO but leaving all those reporters exposed to danger(but not the cabinet members?). Funny they didn’t get this agitated when some crazy tried to shoot up their annual dinner,perhaps because his stated targets was the cabinet and prez. They never thought about collateral damage, like in say Butler?

9 posted on 08/16/2026 5:37:26 AM PDT by Nekman (The Dems are SocialistCommunistUtopianMarxists...SCUM for short...it FITS!)

To: Alas Babylon!; All

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0uicem9ryg

The Jimmy Dore Show

I just found this video with Dr. David Martin,brilliant guy on all things covid. Here's his open statement to host Jimmy Dore:

"All the criminal co conspirators that pulled together the covid racket are all in the same board and all of them signed a document on sept. 18, 2019 that said they were going to have an accidental or intentional release of a lethal respiratory pathogen.

Jimmy: a lethal pathogen release is premeditated murder.

Here's dr. Martin:

10 posted on 08/16/2026 5:54:25 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

To: Alas Babylon!

Has the media determined who will replace Lindsey Graham as “Most Favored Republican Guest” yet?

11 posted on 08/16/2026 5:58:06 AM PDT by Bernard (“Insanity in individuals is something rare…but in groups, <SNIP> it is the rule." Nietzsche)

To: Alas Babylon!

12 posted on 08/16/2026 5:58:10 AM PDT by Lazamataz (Technology can industrialize evil.)

To: Alas Babylon!

Kentucky democrat Gov. Andy Beshear; Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.); Pennsylvania democrat State Rep. Christopher Rabb;

All Democrats on the show...no Republicans..Thank you CBS News...

13 posted on 08/16/2026 6:08:09 AM PDT by DeplorableTrumpSupporter (FKA ConservaTeen)

To: Alas Babylon!

Cassidy is on Tapper saying convenience is the reason for the old vaccine schedule. Cassidy keeps hacking on air. He either has something stuck in his throat or he is getting sick. The irony is priceless.

14 posted on 08/16/2026 6:11:29 AM PDT by Kudsman (4728)

To: Alas Babylon!

Former democrat Mayor of Hartford, CT Luke Bronin.

The new Congressman from the first CD in Connecticut after beating John Larson... My uncle who lives in Connecticut said he's not crazy... I might listen for myself...

15 posted on 08/16/2026 6:12:55 AM PDT by DeplorableTrumpSupporter (FKA ConservaTeen)

I forget where I read it but there is a concerted effort to claim that very few pregnant women had miscarriages.Personally, I don't buy it and lean towards Brays comments. I think he's much closer to the truth than we know.

Now with Dr. David Martin's claim that in 2019 deep staters conspired to release a deadly pathogen it's gonna get harder and harder to legitimize the bio-weapon shots.

The left will never give them up since they have value for the left. They force people to do stuff which is what communism is all about.

With hundreds of different loads in the shots and some women having one shot or others having multiple shots it's going to be very difficult to make any claim at all about what shot does what, when, and where much less "why".

What we do know however is that it was very common back a few years ago for pregnant women to lose their babies. Now that we see it was all planned someone needs to go to on a one way trip to gitmo if not a lot of someone's.

16 posted on 08/16/2026 6:18:03 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

To: DeplorableTrumpSupporter

Kentucky!
Anyone seen Mitch McConnel?
How about the newly minted President of Iran?

17 posted on 08/16/2026 6:20:15 AM PDT by Steven Tyler

To: Alas Babylon!

Now Wes Moore on with Tapper bemoaning high gas prices.

Maryland charges 47 cents per gallon tax

18 posted on 08/16/2026 6:25:09 AM PDT by Kudsman (4728)

Shannons panel is up front.

Reince Priebus former rnc chair says dem energy is a debate between hard commie and soft commie. He says dems will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory since they are so divided. He's likely right.

Radical views on Israel and other issues are now running the dem party accd. to Josh krauthammer,Rashida Tlaib, dem whackjob, now being oked by juannnnnn. All he has is trump is unpopular and a failed presidency. Juan is so crazy even Shannon sees it.

Rogers leads abdul el-sayed the crazed muzzie,Mary Katharine ham says dems have to prove they will be logical.and some issues are just dumb if they don't they can't win in most elections.

19 posted on 08/16/2026 6:27:58 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

It's crazy but high gas prices may have a huge influence on the mid-terms.
Ads lying their ass off about Vindman who is running against Ashley Moody who has a good lead which will probably get even bigger.

20 posted on 08/16/2026 6:31:34 AM PDT by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT))

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