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

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:

BUTCHER’S THUMB – Sunday, August 30th, 2026

(Hybrid Format)

General Mood

The networks are drifting into election season mode — panels, narratives, “democracy framing,” and the usual parade of “Republicans who criticize Trump.” But underneath the surface, the world is moving in ways the shows won’t touch. Real geopolitics, real energy shifts, real ideological fractures — all happening off‑camera while the Sunday lineup pretends the only story in America is November.

This week’s guest lists are weak. The real stories are happening elsewhere.

What’s Not Being Covered

#1 — The CIA Director’s Two‑Hour Moscow Visit

A CIA Director doesn’t casually spend two hours in Moscow. That’s a high‑level intelligence meeting with serious purpose — and yet there’s no readout, no leaks, no transcript, no narrative. Nothing. It’s the rarest kind of geopolitical event: big enough to matter, opaque enough to be dangerous.

Two major possibilities exist:

Possibility A — The Warning
Ratcliffe may have told his Russian counterpart:
“We know you’re considering new asymmetric tactics — drones, sabotage, cyber, proxies — against NATO countries. Don’t do it.”

Possibility B — The Analysis
Ratcliffe may have delivered a full U.S. assessment of the war:
“This war is unwinnable. You cannot break Ukraine. You cannot outlast NATO. You cannot change the map. Your best move is to find a way out.”

Both messages are serious. Both messages are plausible. Both messages fit a coordinated strategy.

And Trump’s public calm — “Russia isn’t going to do anything” — isn’t weakness. It’s strategic reassurance, the good‑cop complement to Ratcliffe’s hard‑line deterrence. It reduces paranoia, reduces miscalculation, and reinforces the idea that the U.S. is not seeking confrontation.

But the networks won’t touch any of this. They can’t weaponize it safely. They can’t explain the ambiguity. They can’t admit Trump’s team might be coordinated. So they pretend the visit didn’t happen.

#2 — Venezuela’s Oil Victory for the United States

While the networks obsess over election narratives, the Western Hemisphere quietly shifted. Venezuela — desperate for cash, refining capacity, and stability — has pivoted toward selling more oil to the U.S. This is a major geopolitical win for American leverage.

It also exposes Ottawa’s climate hypocrisy:
The U.S. is buying dirtier Venezuelan crude
while cleaner Alberta oil stays in the ground
because Ottawa wants to “save the planet.”

The planet doesn’t care where the oil comes from — only how dirty it is.

So:
Alberta loses
Venezuela wins
U.S. refineries win
Ottawa’s narrative collapses

This is a hemispheric realignment — and the networks won’t touch it because it contradicts their preferred framing that the U.S. is “isolated” or “losing influence.”

#3 — The DSA vs. Old‑School Democrat Civil War

AOC rejoining the DSA. Hasan Piker’s incendiary rhetoric. Abdul El‑Sayed refusing to fully break with him. Jewish Democrats furious. Moderates refusing to campaign with their own Senate nominee.

This is a major ideological fracture inside the Democratic Party — one so severe that it’s affecting endorsements, campaign unity, and statewide strategy in Michigan.

But the Sunday shows won’t touch it because covering it honestly would mean admitting:

— the Democrats are divided
— the DSA is ascendant
— progressive influencers are shaping campaigns
— antisemitism controversies are coming from the Left
— the “unity against Trump” narrative is cracking

So they ignore it.

#4 — Dolly Parton: A Great American the Media Can’t Weaponize

In a week full of partisan framing, ideological warfare, and election‑season narratives, one of the most remarkable American stories remains untouched: Dolly Parton. A woman who built herself from poverty into a cultural icon, who has given away more books than most politicians have read, who funds hospitals, literacy programs, and vaccines — and who has never needed to drag herself into the mud of petty politics to do it.

Her story is the kind of American greatness the media can’t weaponize. So they simply ignore it.

Show‑by‑Show Breakdown

(Classic July 26 style — longer, structured, verdicts)

ABC – This Week (George Stephanopoulos)

ABC is leaning hard into election framing. Expect panels discussing “democracy,” “institutions,” and “threats to norms,” with a Republican or two comfortable criticizing Trump. The Canada tariff story will appear — but only in the one‑sided “trade tensions” frame, not the hemispheric energy shift or Alberta’s fury. None of the geopolitical stories above will get airtime.

Verdict: Narrative maintenance, not news.

NBC – Meet the Press (Kristen Welker)

NBC will follow the same pattern: election season, institutional framing, and moral‑narrative packaging. Welker’s panels will focus on “protecting democracy” and “guardrails,” with little interest in the CIA Director’s Moscow visit or Venezuela’s pivot. The DSA civil war won’t be mentioned — it’s too damaging to the unity narrative.

Verdict: Domestic politics only; global context ignored.

CBS – Face the Nation (Margaret Brennan)

CBS has David Becker — which signals a full “election integrity” segment. Brennan will focus on process, institutions, and legal framing. The Canada tariff story may appear, but only as a bilateral dispute, not the broader Western Hemisphere realignment. No mention of Venezuela’s pivot, no mention of the DSA fight, and absolutely no mention of the CIA Director’s Moscow visit.

Verdict: Procedural, cautious, and incomplete.

CNN – State of the Union (Jake Tapper)

Tapper will use his guests as narrative tools. Expect Republicans who criticize Trump, Democrats who reinforce institutional framing, and panels that avoid anything geopolitically inconvenient. The Moscow visit won’t be touched — too ambiguous, too dangerous, too hard to spin. The DSA fight won’t be touched — too damaging to Democrats.

Verdict: Predictable framing, zero curiosity.

Fox News Sunday

Fox may touch Venezuela or Canada, but even here the deeper structural angles often get overshadowed by immediate partisan framing. The CIA Director’s Moscow visit might get a passing mention — but not the strategic ambiguity or the good‑cop/bad‑cop possibility.

Verdict: Some substance, but not the full picture.

Fox – Sunday Morning Futures (Maria Bartiromo)

Maria is the only host likely to touch the real stories: Venezuela’s pivot, the Western Hemisphere energy reshuffle, and possibly the CIA Director’s Moscow visit. If any show mentions the hemispheric realignment or Alberta’s fury, it will be this one.

Verdict: The closest thing to actual coverage.

Closing Cut

This week’s real story isn’t on the guest lists. It’s in the quiet moves happening off‑camera:

A mysterious two‑hour CIA meeting in Moscow that nobody can explain.
A hemispheric energy shift that favors the United States.
A Democratic civil war the networks won’t acknowledge.
And a Great American — Dolly Parton — whose story rises above all of it.

The networks won’t cover these stories. The Thumb will.

“The Sunday Morning Bray”, by Bray!

Isaiah 26:3 (King James Version)
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Ladies are being manipulated by their phones and computers and to a certain extent men are too, but not nearly to the level women are. Women have a basic need to be liked and loved men do not have since they are programed to kill or be killed without feelings getting in the way. You don’t care if the guy you are killing likes your hair or what you are wearing.

The definition of a misogynist is a man who hates a woman as much as women hate women. What do you call a woman who hates men? A Feminist. Women have been brainwashed since the early sixties to hate everything that makes them miraculous which is their womb and the ability to love men for who and what they are in their quest to feed and support a family. They were the glue that held the family together and kept men in the family to be supported and respected, no more.

Abortion has taken the most miraculous part of a woman and her ability to create life and convinced her this is the one thing which holds her back. They have been convinced that earning a paycheck is more important than raising a child and now are being told babies contribute to Global Warming.

Women are born with the need to nurture since it is what their entire body is built for as is their brain. Social media is doing everything it can to rewire women into believing they are mini-men and should cuss, drink, and scratch like men to be tough. They are being taught to be unapproachable and argumentative trying to sound more and more masculine all the time. Men don’t want to marry men, and they wonder why nobody is proposing or dating them when that is exactly who they are becoming.

The reason New Media is doing this is so they can replace men with Gummit as their husband and eliminate the family. They are being convinced this is a better way and becoming targets for the Rainbow Cartels. They want them to become asexual cult members who do all the things the cult tells them to be good little girl robots, and they are falling for it like a fat kid in an ice cream factory.

Women are told from birth to watch what they eat, drink, and sleep with to be a good girl rather than being a bad one. They spend their lives making sure they weigh a certain weight and look a certain way. When they hear about being a vegan to purify or some liquid diet they get sucked right in and begin doing it religiously. Soon they are following all the paths to this religion or that and become members of the Earth Worshiping cult.

During Covid who was following the rules absolutely and not questioning if they were hogwash or not, women. The entire Covid scam was directed at women since they are the nurses and healers of the family, so they did whatever the doctor said without question.

Women are the target for these algorithms and falling for it hook line and sinker. They fell in love with Dr Fauxi and did whatever he said without question or second thought. They believed they were saving their family and friends from the Black Plague buying hand sanitizer by the gallon jug and wearing masks religiously. Men were getting thrown out of stores and restaurants for daring to question the stupidity of wearing a mask which was less effective than a chain link fence stopping mosquitoes.

The Worldwide Communist Party knows women are more susceptible than men and are targeting them 24/7/365. This is their path to overthrowing this country by telling women and especially young single women this is how to be a virtuous woman by following all of the Dumocratic proclamations. Men are women, climate change is real, get your vax, love is love, killing babies is good, and hate Trump with all of the cliches and insanity heaped on top.

Trump has brought a large light of hope to the young men who these women deep down long to have. You are seeing women starting to dress like women and wearing pink again and being girly girly without shame. There is a long way to go, but it really is up to the young men to fight this algorithmic weaponry and say no to this false cult and turn back to the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Israel. America is beginning to see it, and the fires of revival are starting to burn.

Pray for women in America

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

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!

************************************************************************************

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

And the beat goes on............

You encompassed so much there its hard to get into all of it.One thing mentioned was Dolly Parton.

My wife had two big heroes in her lifetime,Elvis And Dolly Parton.

Tears flowed when she heard of Dolly's demise from a fast moving cancer that she had kept to herself like so many other things.She was a very personal,private person but other than that she was as good as they come.

Dolly was not a Republican or a Democrat. Truth is she was a Christian and a loving capitalist.

Dolly never told people what to do are insinuated as much. Instead she lived her life so others could use her as a role model if they chose. This is about as good as it gets with selfless bravado. Especially for someone as high profile as she was.

She gave away books, gave millions to a variety of charities and was always there for many in need, All part of being a good Christian and an excellent capitalist. It was no wonder that our president decided to have our flags run at half staff for a week in honor of one of our greatest Americans:Dolly Parton.

Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette performing together, circa 1980. Photograph: Beth Gwinn/Redferns

Below is one of the really good paragraphs of your work today.

Abortion has taken the most miraculous part of a woman and her ability to create life and convinced her this is the one thing which holds her back. They have been convinced that earning a paycheck is more important than raising a child and now are being told babies contribute to Global Warming.

The left is all about control and we are all susceptible since they target not only women but all of us. The power over women's' thoughts about having a baby or killing it, is one of the most powerful of all. One both men and women should fight until abortion is a forgotten word.

The final assault and endpoint of control after they have control of states,cities,governments at all levels is communism.

Once they have all the control that communism provides the hard left is ready to take over the world.

And as previously stated:

We stand in the way!

some real goodies today:

Sometimes Karma strikes

"Ladies are being manipulated by their phones and computers"

Ace of Spades - Saturday Night Jokes
"I took my 79-year-old uncle to the mall to buy new shoes. Afterward we sat in the food court.
A teenage girl with spiked hair in every color—red, green, blue, and orange—sat next to us.
My uncle kept staring.
Finally she snapped, “What’s your problem, old man? Never done anything wild in your life?”
My uncle calmly replied,
“Once I got high and slept with a peacock. I was just wondering… you might be my daughter.”

here's some more:

Education in the US in just a quick view,it has to change or we fold as a nation.

Exactly, they are being told that is normal.

Just too good. Seems piker may be an excellent spokesman for us! The more the lefty lights hear about him the less appealing he is.

Wow....Bray another powerful essay with so many truths. I may have to cut and paste it and send it to some like minded friends....and a few closed mind relatives.

Fast acting cancer sounds like turbo cancer which is connected to the mRNA Gene Therapy shot.

Did you catch El-Sayed and his apology tour of Jewish Democrats? The question is will they fall for it,because all this piece of 💩 does is lie.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/29/politics/el-sayed-michigan-jewish-democrats-synagogue

“Women are some of the stupidest people on the planet.”

13 posted on 8/9/2026, 11:56:30 PM by bray

https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4391254/posts?page=48#48

Psst bray, misandrist is the word you were searching for. Feminism seeks equality, misandry hates.

Did you not see all of the FR Women on here questioning the Covid vax and “rules”? The women all over the net screaming about the vax? Have you been outside and seen all the un-vegan fat bottomed girls. Have you gone to a park or mall and seen all the mothers with un-aborted kids playing. You made a lot of sweeping generalizations about women, the most egregious being they’re all stupid and algorithm hypnotized. Seek help. Go outside. Look around and find respect for women, Then try and write that essay again.

Women are some of the stupidest people on the planet. So what?