Would some of you that believe the MSM is not biased... please justify the following..

[Billiejeens]

If you mean copy the format, they pretty much do.

If you mean a right wing bias, you may be right. It seems to be very profitable.

Their editorial shows lean right.
The news is straightforward.
They often have more Democrat watchers than the other 2.

 

[Father O'Blivion]

Their editorial shows lean right.
The news is straightforward.
They often have more Democrat watchers than the other 2.

Sounds pretty much like MSNBC, etc. Exchange the word right for the word left.

Maybe the Democrats are more willing to watch the 'other side'?

 

[Billiejeens]

Sounds pretty much like MSNBC, etc. Exchange the word right for the word left.

Maybe the Democrats are more willing to watch the 'other side'?

It's nothing like MSNBC.
They don't even pretend anymore.

 

[Father O'Blivion]

It's nothing like MSNBC.
They don't even pretend anymore.

What is different? Aside from slant.

 

[healthmyths]

Let’s see.. unqualified stupid asshole says and does stupid stuff and gets negative press. Highly qualified guy acts Presidential and does smart stuff and gets positive news coverage.

Holy shit! I think I nailed it.

So why doesn’t Biden donate his salary trump did. After all joe doesn’t the money.
The Iraq project was massive, perhaps the single most lucrative project for the firm ever. In 2012, Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business reported that HillStone officials expected the project to “generate $1.5 billion in revenues over the next three years.” That amounted to more than three times the revenue the company produced in 2011.

A group of minority partners, including James Biden, stood to split about $735 million. “There’s plenty of money for everyone if this project goes through,” said one company official.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

"ushered in the peaceful protesters".

Sorry, you poor mentally ill patient. We all watched the terrorists break into the Capitol live, and commit their violence live.

You mean the feds and antifa....

 

[Concerned American]

If you mean copy the format, they pretty much do.

If you mean a right wing bias, you may be right. It seems to be very profitable.

What they're doing isn't real successful then. Seems 360 newspapers have closed down since just before the pandemic. Over 360 newspapers have closed since just before the start of the pandemic.

 

[Independentthinker]

Because the biased MSM has been so successful at intrusion in the journalism schools, (I took several college journalism classes in the 1960s and Biased news was totally restricted to the editorial/opinion page) but the concept of the "5 Ws"... "Who, when, where, what," have been so ignored because of the "" we know have statements from MSM network news crackpot "journalists"... is the reason for the trigger warnings today!
For example: ABC,CBS, NBC did the following :
After they and other biased MSM donated 96% to Hillary and 90% to Biden while during a 3 month period ABC,CBS,NBC they along their personal donations, donated $400 million in free advertising.e. over 32.7 hours of coverage, from 7/29/2020-10/20/20).
Everything You Need to Know About TV Advertising Costs $104,700/30 sec.
The below link found network news provided 92% negative news about Trump!
"What they found was, over the summer, the broadcast networks have continued to pound Donald Trump and his team with the most hostile coverage of a president in TV news history —92% negative, vs. just 8% positive.from July 29 through October 20"

Broadcast networks deliver 92% negative coverage for Trump, 66% positive for Biden: Study

The country’s major broadcast news media outlets have never been more negatively biased against a sitting president than Donald Trump, a conservative media watchdog has concluded in its latest study, which found President Trump receives negatively-slanted coverage 92% of the time in network news...

www.washingtontimes.com

Negative news... yet for example here are the other presidents negative news statistics:
The study found that about 19% of the coverage of Biden's first 60 days days has been negative of his administration, which ranked best among presidents of the last three decades.
1) lowest negative news Biden 19%
2) Former Presidents Bill Clinton (28%), negative
3) George W. Bush (28%), negative
4) Barack Obama (20%), negative
5) Donald Trump (62%) negative. (again REMEMBER the BIASED MSM Donated 96% of their money to Hillary..she LOST!

Biden received less negative media coverage than any president on record while Trump received most: study

A new study shows President Joe Biden has received less negative coverage from U.S. media than any president in the last 30 years.

gazette.com

So the "WHY" of the 5 "Ws" taught in journalism classes are totally obliterated because either the Democrats according to
the BIASED MSM does FEWER negative things than a GOP in the FIRST 60 days.

HOW many Americans are aware of this manipulation of their political opinions by the BIASED, money donating, news coverage donations MSM?

View attachment 767955

Imagine that. Who wooda ever thunk?

 

[BlindBoo]

The beauty of the free press. Mudslinging against politicians in the press has always been with us. It's in the design.

Feel free to introduce a fresh version of the 'Fairness Doctrine' and see how far that goes in today's' ultra hyped environment.

 

[Father O'Blivion]

What they're doing isn't real successful then. Seems 360 newspapers have closed down since just before the pandemic. Over 360 newspapers have closed since just before the start of the pandemic.

Yes, local news is certainly taking it in shorts. I'm not sure it's a left/right thing though.

 

[healthmyths]

The beauty of the free press. Mudslinging against politicians in the press has always been with us. It's in the design.

Feel free to introduce a fresh version of the 'Fairness Doctrine' and see how far that goes in today's' ultra hyped environment.

Oh I totally agree with you on two major points:
1) I personally find Trump a loud mouth, braggart, and totally a political incorrect person. I didn't vote against Trump twice though because of those
characteristics. I'm more mature and more realistic. Yes Trump has those characteristics I disagree with BUT he like others like him I know GET things
DONE! And I can point out several results that less than a handful of non-politician presidents achieved.. The national interstate system by Ike.
The USA Space Force which will become one of the most important branches and this started by this politically incorrect president Trump. Or like
only two other Presidents, Trump donated his entire salary. And true to the BIASED MSM read some headlines when I do a "Google Search:

2) The other point I agree 100% with you is that the "ultra-hyped" MSM would NEVER allow such a warning as it would totally alter the news community.
I bring such a suggestion hoping the results would be exposing the readers to what the MSM believes and ACTUALLY puts their money where there
mouth is! I mean how can ANY one believe any one at any MSM when 96% of the MSM donations went to Hillary. 90% to Biden.
And of course the biased MSM would not report this. When did you watch ABC,CBS,NBC that 96% of THEIR political donations went to Hillary or 90% to Biden? What would the audience believe then? Believe that Trump slept in a bed that a prostitute peed in? An example of how the MSM MISLEAD Americans in favor of Hillary/Biden:https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...isleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/

Trump's false or misleading claims total 30573 over 4 years Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com › 2021/01/24 › trum...​

Jan 24, 2021 — When The Washington Post Fact Checker team first started cataloguing President Donald Trump's false or misleading claims,...
Now of Trump told 21 brand new total unique LIES every day for 1,461 days as President!
Do you honestly believe that? Trump told 21 brand new lies ever day of his 4 year term? Really?
OH you say that's not what the MSM meant!!!! Bullshit! They knew that the bigger the number the more people would believe!
The Washington post , et.al. didn't care to look at the REALITY that maybe Trump like Biden who LIED to the illegals when he encouraged them to
SURGE to the border... "I would, in fact, make sure that there is, we immediate surge to the border, "

Hey.. Biden said it so I believe he WANTS illegals to SURGE to the border!
So in summary, I agree with you about Trump being disliked...no question and that the MSM would never do a warning about the stories they tell maybe exaggerations..."total 30,573 misleading claims"... and my evidently more sophisticated and mature capability to QUESTION any comment from the MSM is lacking with immature, childish Trump haters who could NEVER recognize that under Trump the FACTS about Covid were grossly exaggerated by the MSM... for example WHY were schools closed when less than 1,719 deaths of 73 million kids under age 18! Why didn't the BIASED MSM tell Americans, that if you were over 65, fat, diabetic, had heart problems you and 844,177 like you made up 75% of deaths! Why didn't the biased MSM tell you that? BECAUSE EVERY NIGHT in 2020 David Muir of ABC, Lester Holt NBC, and Norah O'Donnell of CBS would start off the news with the latest COVID news . Simply exaggerate the news as it would HURT Trump, NEVERMIND their news manipulation hurt Americans !

 

[BlindBoo]

Oh I totally agree with you on two major points:
1) I personally find Trump a loud mouth, braggart, and totally a political incorrect person. I didn't vote against Trump twice though because of those
characteristics. I'm more mature and more realistic. Yes Trump has those characteristics I disagree with BUT he like others like him I know GET things
DONE! And I can point out several results that less than a handful of non-politician presidents achieved.. The national interstate system by Ike.
The USA Space Force which will become one of the most important branches and this started by this politically incorrect president Trump. Or like
only two other Presidents, Trump donated his entire salary. And true to the BIASED MSM read some headlines when I do a "Google Search:
View attachment 768131

2) The other point I agree 100% with you is that the "ultra-hyped" MSM would NEVER allow such a warning as it would totally alter the news community.
I bring such a suggestion hoping the results would be exposing the readers to what the MSM believes and ACTUALLY puts their money where there
mouth is! I mean how can ANY one believe any one at any MSM when 96% of the MSM donations went to Hillary. 90% to Biden.
And of course the biased MSM would not report this. When did you watch ABC,CBS,NBC that 96% of THEIR political donations went to Hillary or 90% to Biden? What would the audience believe then? Believe that Trump slept in a bed that a prostitute peed in? An example of how the MSM MISLEAD Americans in favor of Hillary/Biden:https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...isleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/

Trump's false or misleading claims total 30573 over 4 years Washington Post​

https://www.washingtonpost.com › 2021/01/24 › trum...​

Jan 24, 2021 — When The Washington Post Fact Checker team first started cataloguing President Donald Trump's false or misleading claims,...
Now of Trump told 21 brand new total unique LIES every day for 1,461 days as President!
Do you honestly believe that? Trump told 21 brand new lies ever day of his 4 year term? Really?
OH you say that's not what the MSM meant!!!! Bullshit! They knew that the bigger the number the more people would believe!
The Washington post , et.al. didn't care to look at the REALITY that maybe Trump like Biden who LIED to the illegals when he encouraged them to
SURGE to the border... "I would, in fact, make sure that there is, we immediate surge to the border, "

Hey.. Biden said it so I believe he WANTS illegals to SURGE to the border!
So in summary, I agree with you about Trump being disliked...no question and that the MSM would never do a warning about the stories they tell maybe exaggerations..."total 30,573 misleading claims"... and my evidently more sophisticated and mature capability to QUESTION any comment from the MSM is lacking with immature, childish Trump haters who could NEVER recognize that under Trump the FACTS about Covid were grossly exaggerated by the MSM... for example WHY were schools closed when less than 1,719 deaths of 73 million kids under age 18! Why didn't the BIASED MSM tell Americans, that if you were over 65, fat, diabetic, had heart problems you and 844,177 like you made up 75% of deaths! Why didn't the biased MSM tell you that? BECAUSE EVERY NIGHT in 2020 David Muir of ABC, Lester Holt NBC, and Norah O'Donnell of CBS would start off the news with the latest COVID news . Simply exaggerate the news as it would HURT Trump, NEVERMIND their news manipulation hurt Americans !

See you just have to ignore the Faux Networks and eclectic sources of right wing information you have to draw from, which makes as many, if not more, wild claims about Democrats.

 

[healthmyths]

See you just have to ignore the Faux Networks and eclectic sources of right wing information you have to draw from, which makes as many, if not more, wild claims about Democrats.

See the difference between people like you and me is that you almost NEVER provide facts which is the characteristic of people that have the old fashion and truly uninformed beliefs that the MSM tells the unbiased truth. For example the repeated statement Trump told 30,573 lies or 21 per day.
Logical and smarter people evidently than you or the Washington Post know that is impossible. Now it is possible that a lie has been repeated by Trump but the BIG lie perpetuated by uninformed people like you is per the Post... Trump told 30,573 lies . So where were you and the MSM when Obama said this lie ...how many times??? But where did the biased MSM say Obama told at least For years, Obama repeated his promise that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” However, reality caught up with the president in 2013, when insurance companies began to cancel policies that did not meet the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act, and Obama was forced to apologize.
I did a Google search for "how many times did Obama lie about “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”
About 7,890 results (0.49 seconds)
So that is at least 7,890 LIES by Obama!
But NOT one MSM has done a similar count on Obama! In 8 years!
I mean true dummies will strongly say that Trump suggested drinking bleach right???
And I bet YOU think that because the MSM repeated that false statement.
But WHO did suggest drinking bleach???
Biden said..."maybe if you drank bleach you may be okay".


Now if you do a little more research on what Biden said... you'll see what he actually said and as I'm pointing out.. if you did an analysis of Trump's so-called 30,573 lies with an honest and NOT biased but seeking the truth attitude...I doubt it but maybe you will comprehend how the BIASED MSM is!

 

[BlindBoo]

See the difference between people like you and me is that you almost NEVER provide facts which is the characteristic of people that have the old fashion and truly uninformed beliefs that the MSM tells the unbiased truth. For example the repeated statement Trump told 30,573 lies or 21 per day.
Logical and smarter people evidently than you or the Washington Post know that is impossible. Now it is possible that a lie has been repeated by Trump but the BIG lie perpetuated by uninformed people like you is per the Post... Trump told 30,573 lies . So where were you and the MSM when Obama said this lie ...how many times??? But where did the biased MSM say Obama told at least For years, Obama repeated his promise that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” However, reality caught up with the president in 2013, when insurance companies began to cancel policies that did not meet the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act, and Obama was forced to apologize.
I did a Google search for "how many times did Obama lie about “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”
About 7,890 results (0.49 seconds)
So that is at least 7,890 LIES by Obama!
But NOT one MSM has done a similar count on Obama! In 8 years!
I mean true dummies will strongly say that Trump suggested drinking bleach right???
And I bet YOU think that because the MSM repeated that false statement.
But WHO did suggest drinking bleach???
Biden said..."maybe if you drank bleach you may be okay".


Now if you do a little more research on what Biden said... you'll see what he actually said and as I'm pointing out.. if you did an analysis of Trump's so-called 30,573 lies with an honest and NOT biased but seeking the truth attitude...I doubt it but maybe you will comprehend how the BIASED MSM is!

Trump voters told me they resented being called "deplorables" by Hillary Clinton. They said they felt that "coastal elites" looked down at their religious faith, their desire to own guns, their feeling that America was no longer "great." Those trips I took were a window into middle-class grievance — a loss of hope in the American Dream.

But something else emerged, too. These varied narratives and the enthusiastic Trump supporters were connected by a common thread: Fox News.

Across Trump Nation, Fox News had become a Bible of sorts — a cable TV message board in an echo chamber that hungered for “news” that a once-great nation was in decline or at least being forced to change in ways that threatened old-fashioned values.

Every coffee shop seemed to have a TV tuned to Fox News. Every bar. Every motel lobby. Every gym.

The cable network had become a unifying voice, a cultural hub that brought together the stories that gave credence to an increasing belief among Trump supporters that America’s well-educated progressives were taking over the nation and pushing an agenda that demeaned religion, hard work and traditional families while promoting gender equality, high taxes, lax immigration rules and an ever-expanding welfare state geared to non-whites.

But now we know that voice — that echo chamber — was filled with lies.

Why Trump Nation voters ignored the lies of Fox News | Mike Kelly

Fox News, the common denominator for the American right, is in a mess over lies about the 2020 election. Why? Trump Nation was at stake.

www.northjersey.com

Turn Off Faux. It's Bad News for America.

 

[Concerned American]

Yes, local news is certainly taking it in shorts. I'm not sure it's a left/right thing though.

It is an objectivity thing. I don't want to read a bunch of good old boy shit from either party. I want well-written, researched and sourced news without a political spin. Something that has been sorely missing from media for at least thirty years.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I remember back when I was a kid, you had limited news sources. Either (a), you could watch the evening news, or (b) you could buy a newspaper. Those 2 sources generally just told you what was going on, and the opinion sections were limited to the end of the broadcast or the opinion page.

But then? Along came news stations like CNN, and they started to broadcast what was going on 24/7. That's a lot of time to fill, and so they slowly started to let opinions creep into their broadcasts. I mean, reporting the same thing over and over each hour can be a bit tedious, and viewers will become bored and go to other places. So, to prevent that, they started to invite other people in to talk about the stories, and eventually, the "broadcasts" became just another talk show. They still had time to fill, they still wanted to attract advertisers, and the only way they could do that was to expand their programming along the lines of talk shows.

Now? That opinion creep has become so prevalent, that most news channels don't really report anything of substance, except for the first 5-10 min of the hour. The rest of the time is simply filler to keep eyeballs glued to the screen so advertisers could hawk their wares.

While I will check out the 24/7 news channels on occasion, my preferred method of getting news is to check out various sources on the 'net, or watch BBC. BBC is one of the few stations out there that still has some news integrity, but, that's because they don't broadcast 24/7. You can only catch their broadcasts a couple of times per day, and the reporters generally (not all the time, but mostly) leave opinion out of the reporting.

But, to watch news like that takes a bit of effort. You either have to make sure you're around to watch the broadcast, or you have to record it so you can watch it later.

IMHO, what's killing journalism as we used to know it is the plethora of news channels running all the time. When news was limited to just 1 hour per day (1/2 for local, 1/2 for national), it was decent, but now that it's non stop all day, they are filling it with crap. And the crap is the opinion of the news reporters which tends to follow what the opinions of the people running the news channel have, which is why you have each side calling out the other for their biased channels.

 

[healthmyths]

Trump voters told me they resented being called "deplorables" by Hillary Clinton. They said they felt that "coastal elites" looked down at their religious faith, their desire to own guns, their feeling that America was no longer "great." Those trips I took were a window into middle-class grievance — a loss of hope in the American Dream.

But something else emerged, too. These varied narratives and the enthusiastic Trump supporters were connected by a common thread: Fox News.

Across Trump Nation, Fox News had become a Bible of sorts — a cable TV message board in an echo chamber that hungered for “news” that a once-great nation was in decline or at least being forced to change in ways that threatened old-fashioned values.

Every coffee shop seemed to have a TV tuned to Fox News. Every bar. Every motel lobby. Every gym.

The cable network had become a unifying voice, a cultural hub that brought together the stories that gave credence to an increasing belief among Trump supporters that America’s well-educated progressives were taking over the nation and pushing an agenda that demeaned religion, hard work and traditional families while promoting gender equality, high taxes, lax immigration rules and an ever-expanding welfare state geared to non-whites.

But now we know that voice — that echo chamber — was filled with lies.

Why Trump Nation voters ignored the lies of Fox News | Mike Kelly

Fox News, the common denominator for the American right, is in a mess over lies about the 2020 election. Why? Trump Nation was at stake.

www.northjersey.com

Turn Off Faux. It's Bad News for America.

Well you know the difference is that I watch every night ABC's David Muir. And there is definitely a bias between Fox for sure that David Muir exemplifies. The facts though are overwhelming that the BIASED MSM supports the democrats! I mean you haven't ever ever addressed the
glaring facts I've submitted that ABC,CBS,NBC spent 37 hours in just 3 months bashing at 92% negatives Trump! While at the same time their compatriots donated 96% to Hilary and 90% to Biden! You've never addressed that! And yes Fox is biased! But the combined viewership of ABC,etc. far exceeds Fox. And NYTimes, LA Times Washington Post, among the leading BIASED MSM have proven that.
Again I've asked you to explain how the attached articles aren't PROOF that the BIASED MSM donations to the Democrats weren't reinforced by the MSM's news presentations.
Please explain why the Democrat presidents have so much more positive news in their first 100 days than the GOP?
And Biden had the least negative news of the last 5 presidents.
The study found that about 19% of the coverage of Biden's first 60 days days has been negative over the first 60 days of his administration, which ranked best among presidents of the last three decades.
1) lowest negative news Biden 19%
2) Former Presidents Bill Clinton (28%), negative
3) George W. Bush (28%), negative
4) Barack Obama (20%), negative
5) Donald Trump (62%) negative. (again REMEMBER the BIASED MSM Donated 96% of their money to Hillary..she LOST!

Biden received less negative media coverage than any president on record while Trump received most: study

A new study shows President Joe Biden has received less negative coverage from U.S. media than any president in the last 30 years.

gazette.com

Please refute the following FACTS and tell me again there is no political bias!
THE MOST-WATCHED NETWORKS OF 2022 (BY TOTAL VIEWERS)

• NBC. 5,148. -7%
• CBS. 5,144. -8%
• ABC. 3,867. -6%
• Fox. 3,233. -14%

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2022’s Winners and Losers

There may come a time when it just doesn’t make sense to rank the broadcast and cable networks anymore. Actually, that time is probably already here, with most viewing now taking place via streamin…

variety.com

nearly 11 viewers watching the BIASED MSM than Fox.

The L.A. Times’ disappointing digital numbers show the game’s not just about drawing in subscribers — it’s about keeping them

We will all benefit if the Los Angeles Times becomes a West Coast counterweight to those dailies in New York and D.C. But it'll take a bigger investment in reader retention to get there.

www.niemanlab.org

4,888,000 readers...of 10 leading newspapers.
And you still contend Fox is competitive??

 

[healthmyths]

I remember back when I was a kid, you had limited news sources. Either (a), you could watch the evening news, or (b) you could buy a newspaper. Those 2 sources generally just told you what was going on, and the opinion sections were limited to the end of the broadcast or the opinion page.

But then? Along came news stations like CNN, and they started to broadcast what was going on 24/7. That's a lot of time to fill, and so they slowly started to let opinions creep into their broadcasts. I mean, reporting the same thing over and over each hour can be a bit tedious, and viewers will become bored and go to other places. So, to prevent that, they started to invite other people in to talk about the stories, and eventually, the "broadcasts" became just another talk show. They still had time to fill, they still wanted to attract advertisers, and the only way they could do that was to expand their programming along the lines of talk shows.

Now? That opinion creep has become so prevalent, that most news channels don't really report anything of substance, except for the first 5-10 min of the hour. The rest of the time is simply filler to keep eyeballs glued to the screen so advertisers could hawk their wares.

While I will check out the 24/7 news channels on occasion, my preferred method of getting news is to check out various sources on the 'net, or watch BBC. BBC is one of the few stations out there that still has some news integrity, but, that's because they don't broadcast 24/7. You can only catch their broadcasts a couple of times per day, and the reporters generally (not all the time, but mostly) leave opinion out of the reporting.

But, to watch news like that takes a bit of effort. You either have to make sure you're around to watch the broadcast, or you have to record it so you can watch it later.

IMHO, what's killing journalism as we used to know it is the plethora of news channels running all the time. When news was limited to just 1 hour per day (1/2 for local, 1/2 for national), it was decent, but now that it's non stop all day, they are filling it with crap. And the crap is the opinion of the news reporters which tends to follow what the opinions of the people running the news channel have, which is why you have each side calling out the other for their biased channels.

You are 100% correct. Consequently the attached articles SHOULD with logical, intelligent voters UNDERSTAND the BIAS of the MSM INFLUENCES their
information. Specifically, I don't like Trump's personality... he's a braggart, loud mouth etc., BUT I have had very very effective bosses like Trump and LIKE
Trump politically INCORRECT. With the BIASED MSM so juvenile in their understanding of how to get things done they as I point out gave 96% to Hillary then next 4 years spent the most negative news about Trump and then gave to Biden 90%! PLUS ABC,CBS,NBC donated and no one has questioned this nearly $400 million during a 3 month period, they along their personal donations, donated $400 million in free advertising.e. over 32.7 hours of coverage, from 7/29/2020-10/20/20). Everything You Need to Know About TV Advertising Costs $104,700/30 sec.
The below link found network news provided 92% negative news about Trump!
"What they found was, over the summer, the broadcast networks have continued to pound Donald Trump and his team with the most hostile coverage of a president in TV news history — 92% negative, vs. just 8% positive.from July 29 through October 20"

Broadcast networks deliver 92% negative coverage for Trump, 66% positive for Biden: Study

The country’s major broadcast news media outlets have never been more negatively biased against a sitting president than Donald Trump, a conservative media watchdog has concluded in its latest study, which found President Trump receives negatively-slanted coverage 92% of the time in network news...

www.washingtontimes.com

My hope in bringing this TREMENDOUS bias to a small group of intelligent, OBJECTIVE voters awareness that the BIASED MSM has influenced others
like the juvenile MSM with their juvenile behavior towards this Queens NY native. The reason I mention that is I lived in NY and knew people in Queens
like Trump (who grew up there) and some of the most effective people were like Trump! Loud, boisterous, braggarts that also like Trump loved America, the cops, the military and their families! So yes I personally don't like Trump BUT he got things done and most were positives for Americans!