A Galllup Poll finds extreme pride in the country is at an 18-year low, with 45 percent of adults saying they are “extremely proud” to be Americans with 70 percent mentioning they were proud, notes Grumpy Editor.
“Record-low American patriotism is the latest casualty of the sharply polarized political climate in the U.S. today,” finds Gallup. “The decline reflects plummeting pride among Democrats since Trump took office, even as Republican pride has edged higher.”
“Highest readings on the measure, 69 percent and 70 percent, were between 2002 and 2004, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the American public expressed high levels of patriotism and rallied around the U.S. government,” adds Gallup.
With this, New York Post’s Kyle Smith, in an opinion column, points out:
"American military, economic and cultural power dominates the world (you’ve never heard of the biggest movie made by China or France this year, but they’ve certainly heard of “Avengers: Endgame”). America leads the world in Nobel laureates, and it isn’t close. America leads the world in the success of our middle class, and it isn’t close. True, America has more poor people than some other countries — but that’s because we let in millions of people from poor countries. Saying “America has a poverty problem” is like saying, “Florida has a high death rate.” Florida doesn’t kill people, it just attracts a lot of old ones."
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...
MAD MAGAZINE LEAVING NEWSSTANDS. MAD, the magazine instantly recognizable by the gap-toothed smiling face of mascot Alfred E. Neuman (debuting in 1956), will be leaving newsstands after the August issue. Starting with the issue that goes on sale in October, the long-running satirical magazine will be available only at comic book stores or mailed to subscribers. Most material will be pulled from cartoons and parodies published over the magazine's 67-year run. The only new material will come in special editions at year's end.
LAID OFF NEWS STAFFERS GROWS. About 3,000 people in the news business have been laid off or been offered buyouts in the first five months of this year. Cuts have been widespread. Newspapers owned by Gannett and McClatchy, digital media companies like BuzzFeed and Vice Media, and cable news channel CNN have all shed employees. The level of attrition is the highest since 2009, when the industry saw 7,914 job cuts in the first five months of that year in the wake of the financial crisis, according to data compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an outplacement and executive coaching firm.
EMPLOYED PEOPLE HITS RECORD. A record 157,005,000 people were employed in June, the most since February and the 19th record of Trump's presidency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The economy added 224,000 jobs in June, well above the estimate of 160,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, lowest in 50 years, ticked up a tenth of a point to 3.7 percent.
BOSSA NOVA PIONEER DIES. Joao Gilberto, 88, Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova genre that gained global popularity in the 1960s, died Saturday. Bossa nova emerged in the late 1950s and gained a worldwide following in the 1960s, pioneered by Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim, who composed the iconic The Girl From Ipanema that was performed by Gilberto and others.
YOUNG FOX WALKS FROM NORWAY TO CANADA. BBC News reported a young Arctic fox walked across the ice from Norway's Svalbard islands to Ellesmere Island in northern Canada --- 2,176 miles --- in 76 days. To aid in tracking, researchers at Norway's Polar Institute fitted the young female with a GPS device and freed her into the wild in late March, 2018, on the east coast of Spitsbergen, the Svalbard archipelago's main island. The fox was under a year old when she set off on her westward trip.
U.S. ECONOMY SETS RECORD. The U.S. economy set a record for the most consecutive months without a recession -- 121 -- which dates back to 2009. Cities that have fared tbest were New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami. Unemployment peaked at 10 percent in October, 2009 and now is at 3.6 percent, lowest level in 50 years.
FOX NEWS CONTINUES TOP OF LIST. Fox News finished this year’s second quarter in precisely the place the network has been for the last 70 consecutive quarters: on top. According to ratings data compiled by Nielsen, Fox News had seven of the top 10 cable news programs and eight of the top 10 among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by national advertisers.
TESLA SETS RECORD IN DELIVERIES. Tesla reported 95,200 vehicle deliveries to worldwide customers in the second quarter, breaking its previous quarterly record of 90,700 set in 2018's fourth quarter.
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