Thanks to Heather Timmons, White House editor for Reuters, whom I met a lifetime ago in summer 2016 as we tried to figure out what on earth was going on in the Republican Party, I got to hear President Biden’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in person last night.
Censorship of all writing is a fascist frontal attack on the first amendment. Silencing dissent by throwing legislators out of their seats is likewise the same thing. When dissent is silenced and guns are legal, chaos results, thus building pressure for a dictator to run things.
I am pleased to see that the Seattle Public Library is now joined with the Brooklyn Library in NYC to make all books banned anywhere available to anyone who wants to read them. A major step in fighting fascist work has been taken on both coasts, Brooklyn was first. Tell your library about it!
Authoritarianism looms large in history, and leaves a very ugly legacy, and it comes in many forms; yet the the same mechanisms of dishonesty, exploitation, and violent force are consistently present under the hood.
"That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings." - Lincoln
Few kings today are autocrats, but it it is autocracy or oligarchy that has been our species most tragic plague since a least the start of recorded history. We are fools to watch it assembled in our own society and not raise a full alarm. I think few would really want to go where that pattern has historically led. Especially now when dangers that are escaping our control are rising, such as environmental unraveling while the forces of delusion, such as R. Senator Ron Johnson, fiddle. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/ron-johnson-global-warming-wisconsin-b2328361.html
JL, Thank you for the link to Johnson’s idiotic video statement about climate change. It is really beyond belief how these people get into office. Sigh.
Or what is good for me is all that matters. What I want is all that matters. Such people are the last people you would want to entrust with public power, although of course they are attracted to it.
Except that Kindergarten is the place that teaches many children to care and share in case we have not yet learned it. In a group, a society, a sociocultural environment. How to live in a Democracy. And that is in great jeopardy, too. What books are safe to read in a fascist country? What education is safe in a fascist society?
Using a series of logically impossible combinations like Open Carry with Stand Your Ground, this cabal of quacks and crackpots is actively promoting madness while enabling murder.
I do not think it would be wise to publish here some politicians' current reinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment, yet note that deregulation and insecurity are seen by mafias as desirable and by despots and would-be despots as necessary.
I think that in the cult of gun worship, not simply possession of a weapon, a gun is a talisman for the embrace of violence as tool to negotiate life. Just listen to the rhetoric of such people. I hate violence, yet see circumstances in which it is the last (not the first) line of defense, but the application of violence is a choice like chemotherepy, a last if potentially life-saving option, one applied with ample caution, and one that likely to have destructive side effects. Even responsible and justifiable use of violence leaves "collateral damage", and sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Violence remains popular because it is a form of power.
Alaska Supreme Court ruled gerrymandering is against the Alaska State Constitution. And Murkowski (AK) is trying to get democratic bills passed in the Senate.
If we are really going to be a self-determining society, "government of the people, by the people, for the people", then we have got to put our very best emotionally adult, professional competency as individuals into making it all work. That includes identifying professionals to further and protect our interests that are up to the daunting challenge. It also means minding the general welfare and not waiting to worry if a neighbors house catches fire until the whole town is ablaze, which used to happen back in the day, despite the community's best efforts.
Do it yourself governance, republic style is a share of collective responsibility for the whole show, as well as a share of choice.
Johnson is number than a pounded thumb, and I'd say the folks who voted for him are number than a pounded brain. (That's "numb -er" (as in "more numb", not "number" as in "digit".)
'Tucker Carlson and Kari Lake Announce Plans for Alternate Universe'
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a decision that sent shock waves through conservative circles, Tucker Carlson and Kari Lake announced that they are joining forces to create an alternate universe.'
'Although plans for their universe are in the primordial stage, the two right-wing icons said that it would exist outside the normal bounds of time and space.' (Satire, NewYorker)
That comment came straight from SNL. Wonder how many are going to be complaining about price of fresh veggies this summer after the “welcome” climate change has left central California crop lands under water and as it gets warmer the snow will melt and has no where to go but over farm lands again?
Christine, they will blame "Biden" like they blame him for the gas prices. The Indiana gas tax has raised twice since he took office....and Hoosiers still blame "Biden".
All I hear from the Fox brigade us Biden raised prices. The train derailment was blamed on him everything is blamed on him. There's no getting them to hear because their ears are closed to reason. It's truly unbelievable to watch close up in the human lab where I observe the white privileged male who is my husband.
They’d blame Biden if the pizza delivery guy is late. The drive through person got your order wrong, and the the baby is two weeks past the delivery date.
JL, this post is the emblem of the repubs. “It’s good for me, so who cares about anyone or anywhere else!?” My polite paraphrase. Voices in the House. Voting Rights, Climate change, Women’s Right to Choose, Gun Laws, sexual orientation, 1619, Truth and Justice. Truth. Justice. College exams. Book Bans. Mickey Mouse. Libraries. Schooling, Education at all levels. Critical Race Theory that is critical for all students and citizens. Volumes of current and historic evidence. We have to not only pay attention, but speak out, stand up, March and gather and protect.
I read that article right before this one. You beat me to posting the link. I would love to see this make national news. The First Amendment seems to only apply to conservatives in Arkansas.
I read that. I don’t subscribe to that newsletter, so I’ll post here (although I do subscribe to Judd Legum). I found the absurdity of the Judge and the sentence to be far short of the defendant rights. Remember what we did to the TN House for expelling 2 representatives that happened to be black? Now the Speaker of the House is looking, with good reason, as a corrupt individual who took great advantage of TN taxpayers. Time to do the same to the judge here. He’s a right wing hack who needs to be called out. I’m all for using my 1st amendment rights to call out this gross misinterpretation of 1A. Newspaper ads? Protests against this guy? Let’s work our way up the food chain till we get to SCOTUS.
Reminder; we own the government, not the other way around. We were already beyond the pale with the loss of Constitutional Rights overturning the voting rights act in 2013. The Dobbs decision took away more rights. This free for all of horrible legislation needs to be called on the carpet and in broad daylight. What are we thinking even considering voting Republican anywhere in this country?
I don't believe that we the people ever "owned" the government, though for sure if/when some of us managed to band together and persist, we have managed to influence it. However, what influence we had took a sharp turn for the worse before 2013 -- in 2010, to be exact, with the _Citizens United_ decision, allowing corporations and gazillionaires to have even greater influence on politics than they had before.
The checks and balances among legislative, executive, and judiciary become pretty useless when Big Money manages to co-opt all three branches.
You’re correct of course and it’s most likely going to burn hotter before Republicans burn out completely.
What we have is a document that clearly states how the government is required to be in service of the people. It has been contested since its inception, because there will always be hate in close minded hearts.
We aren’t those people, we want every American citizen to have the rights outlined in the Constitution, including those with closed hearts.
But, we also want justice for those who’ve been victimized by corrupt judges and law enforcement convoluting laws to fit their own prejudices.
Of course this takes unrelenting vigilance on the part of voters to understand who they’re voting for and what they stand for.
We can overturn Citizens United and codify reproductive and voters rights by using our voting voices. As Republicans and Democrat parties turn into Independents, we have to have open primaries in every state. Gerrymandering will be with us for a while, but I like to point out in most of my posts that heavily gerrymandered PA voted in our third Democrat Governor in a row with Gov. Josh Shapiro, flipped a Senate seat from red to blue with Senator John Fetterman and flipped out state House blue for the first time in close to 30 years! With our sites set on the state senate in 2024.
This started way before 2010. Read Molly Ivans "Bushwhacked". Corporate dark money to buy legislation and eliminate regulations was common under Bush. Now they create dummy "educational" foundations to hide the sources. Cracking down on this is playing "whack-a-mole." How else do our Senators and Representatives who make $177,000 per year become multi-millionaires?
I'm a Molly fan -- I still listen to "Who Let the Dogs In?" while driving around and pretend that she's still here. I like to blame everything that's gone wrong on Ronald Reagan, even though he was probably non compos mentis for much of his tenure, but then I remember Nixon's southern strategy and how the white South went Republican . . . I do wonder about those senators and reps who get rich while in office, even without writing a book, and I *really* wonder how anyone can make $10.3 million over eight years like Chief Justice Roberts's wife did.
The Bible, which most Republicans swear fealty to, says that the "love of money" is "the root of all evil. Of course it all gets explained away by claiming it's only those other people who "love" money, not righteous Republicans like Trump.
I pursue money and observe that few don't, but in my mind the "love" of money has to do with being willing to throw any other value (including other people) under the bus to maximize profit. Is that not malignant narcissism, and isn't that behavior pretty well described as "evil'?
I has also been said by many more people that Lord Acton that "power tends to corrupt"; and money is power; and readily exchangeable for political power in a corrupted society.
Most of us pursue money because of the way our economy is structured: money gets us the things we want and (just as important) helps us avoid the situations we don't want, like being broke on the street. I can barely imagine a society without some equivalent of money, that can make do with everyone growing or making most of what they need and bartering for the rest of it, but I know (and have known) many, many people who keep all this in perspective. None of them are running banks or huge corporations, however.
OMG, what's WRONG with these people?!?!? Having spoken (sometimes rather loudly in the hallway) on multiple occasions at school board meetings, as a teacher and after retirement as PTA president, I know first-hand that any and all elections matter.
Thank you Martyrita for posting this link. What a frightening unconstitutional outcome for that young man with outstanding morals in comparison to the person allowed to remain as a judge with such a background of anti democratic behavior.
Thank you. The article reminds us, once again, that the disturbing partisan position of our judges require close scrutiny both in state and federal positions. Is it even possible to achieve a state of "blind justice"? Unfortunately, I must admit, I would be pleased to know a "liberal" justice was appointed anywhere, as in WI. Double edged sword, as they say. What, in heaven's name, is the solution? I do strongly feel that that young man should not suffer. Perhaps there are too few protests against abridged freedoms, and perhaps the protests that do occur are too polite? Perhaps this time in history demands a more visible, coordinated and loud pushback? The judge and the board should be ashamed and so should the state government, but I am not sure shame is a known quantity with these people. With "God and guns on their side", they can do no wrong. Right? Wrong, very wrong!!
Whatever the partisan leanings of a judge, a respectable judges have a fiduciary duty to be as aware as possible of their preferences and to keep them reasonably separated from their prescribed duties. Is not the essence of corruption the misuse of entrusted powers to serve personal ends at a cost to those one is pledged and payed to serve? Overall respect for the system depends on avoiding even the undue "appearance" of corruption.
Who watches the watchers? In the end, the buck stops with us. In the end we can't allow corruption to take root and grow. If I recall, it says something in the Tao Te Ching about pulling weeds while they are small. A an avid gardener, I know that's true, but too often let things get away from me. Better late than never.
It is high time that SCOTUS receives some close and public scrutiny.
Chief Justice Roberts' refusal to answer Congressional questions merely inflames the public sense that something has gone completely awry. The more scrutiny they receive, the longer the list of ethical conflicts gets. Surely, opening up some windows, letting in some light by engaging in public dialog regarding the court's ethical criteria, is the only way restore confidence in the institution once again. That and examining (AND fixing) the critical issue Marlene Lerner-Bigley brought up below.
Locally, a school district removed 36 books from the shelves without first following their own policies to evaluate them and I guess that will actually happen ex post facto. Many on the list I didn't recognize, but two were by Toni Morrison and one (which escapes me at the moment) that I couldn't even figure out why it was there. I used to be a high school librarian and also taught some classes. I did have one person who wanted the books about creation put in the science number which didn't happen. There were a couple cases involving the English department which were basically acts of revenge. We had one complaint about a book taught in an English class which happened to be by an author who was visiting...teacher had disciplined the student. Our English department taught a lot of novels. If a parent objected to a book, the student spent time in the library, including one case where the family was famous for suing people for all sorts of things as a sort of scam. Their daughter spent many English classes in the library, so she wouldn't be "corrupted." My local ballot for the Salem Keizer school board is ready to be mailed. We have a good slate of progressives opposed by the local wing nuts who would try to institute the right wing agenda. I have to say, watching the current horror stories at schools and libraries that I am glad to be long retired. And right now I am reading a fascinating book that I have mentioned before, God, An Anatomy. Plenty there to offend certain people. Three chapters on genitals and one on divine sex. Now I am thinking of reading some verses of the Bible to see how they have been sanitized. Also people forget that Judaism and Christianity existed in a general cultural milieu which influenced the Bible and the image of God in it.
Keep talking! You may get me to read that book yet. Altho my sidetable is heavy with books already. LOL. May I ask your state? I am so uncomfortable about what is happening here in NH....
Thank you, Heather, for another letter that brightly highlights the contrasts between the administrations of tfg and President Biden. Wondering about the current status of VOA and Michael Pack, I am very pleased to find out he was asked by Biden to resign on January 20, 2021–barely two hours after he took office.
A President who took the oath of office, made a speech - then went right to work. And every day since, "Dark Brandon" has set an example not by playing golf and ridiculing people - but by working hard to right the ship state. By surrounding himself with real experts as members of his team. By setting a steady course of decency and dogged diplomacy. Proud, I am.
As Lindsay Graham said before he sold his soul: "How can you not like Joe Biden?"
"Asked to resign" is too gentle. It should have been a very public "You have three hours to resign and leave of the building. After that, you'll be fired and thrown out of the building." What a loathsome creature...
As HCR's style to remind us. And in this instance, of another of the horrors of the prior administration. To think they "legally" continue to use the First Amendment for their hooliganisms!
Thank you once again, HCR. You have an uncanny ability to identify and write about some of the most important subjects out there. Concisely. Knowledgeably. Beautifully.
I thought his speech had humor, good jabs, and a solid message about the inextricable connection between democracy maintained and a free press. Worth listening to the whole thing. Better than a SNL skit or one of the latenight pundits. Thank you, Heather. I'm including a link to it on youtube .
I love that you were there!! How fun! And fitting. I know you’re an historian first, but your Letter From An American is my most important news source every day. The one I never miss.
Thank you, Dr. Richardson for another great and interesting story, especially the history of the WHCA of which I was unaware. Having a free and honest press corps and broadcast or cable TV REAL news is essential to any democracy. I salute the few truly honest members of the media who report what is happening without weighting it with their "both sides" garbage. Cheers to you for keeping us not only updated but giving us the historical background as a bonus.
Hearing about both sides is OK, but false equivalency is definitely NOT.
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”
I think Biden did well to lean into it at the WHCA Dinner. When you confront people's concerns and are sharp and self-confident enough to turn fears to laughter, you go a long way to defeating that concern.
And let us not forget, NO ONE, no matter what their age, is guaranteed tomorrow.
The Scrriptures, are Clear ! on THAT ! MUCH, of MANKIND, Should look iinto the Mirror, at THESELVES! and DETERMINE, where they REALLY STAND, when THEY BOW, on Bended KNEE, BEFORE Their LORD/GOD ALMIGHTY!
Thank you, again, HCR, for the history lesson that puts depth and perspective into current events. It’s all a process; always evolving.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is an object lesson that an American’s civil rights do not travel with him to foreign shores, especially into places like Putin’s Russia. Those rights are not even guaranteed here, as we have seen of late. They must be nurtured, cared for, and maintained against “patriots” designing to take those rights away from some of us.
Malignantly narcissistic predators love to cover themselves with claims of righteousness when they really only value people who look and think just like they do. Real patriots care enough about their country to care about the country as a whole, and the planet on which it is situated. Real patriots care enough about their county to admit and address its flaws.
Delighted you were able to attend! Hope the laughs in jest by the President himself were well received. Seems a great way to deflect criticism. Kudos to Dark Brandon! 😊
I’m so excited Heather got to go! I think it’s the one thing I’m envious of in DC. I think it’d be such fun. Everything else about DC, I think would be exhausting.
Maybe the biggest gift to democracy would be to revisit the power of the presidential pardon, a political gimmick used mainly on the last day of a presidents time in office with no oversight and apparently above the law with no limits.
Steve Bannon and Roger Stone are good examples. Convicted incarcerated criminals unleashed on the world that went right back to crime and chaos. That ain't democracy.
I think the biggest gift would be a national effort, a triage if you will, to hold all laws, policies and practices up to a benchmark of governance "of the people, by the people, for the people"; does it help or hurt the effort? And adjust accordingly.
Yes yes YES, William! Those questionable pardons by Fake 45 should be revoked and I do not think there is anything in the Constitution that says they can’t.
Heather thank you for your letter. It is so reassuring to see the contrast between Biden and Trump. Biden relating and talking with the free press and Trump hiding from the press except for a few who support him. No wonder Trump loved Putin. Biden is helping us heal from the ravages of Trump and many of the radicals in the Republican Party. Thanks for reminding us of what Democracy is. We need to keep fighting for Democracy and voters rights.
Thank you, Heather, for highlighting the history of the WHCA. The following is an excerpt from President Carter's speech at the Correspondents' dinner in 1979. He highlights, all kidding aside, our nation's steadfast support for freedom of the press.
"It's been a pleasure being with you tonight and to have shared a few quiet moments on this solemn occasion. In our day-to-day dealings with each other, we occasionally—in our day-to-day dealings with each other, we often—in our day-today dealings with each other, we almost always aggravate the hell out of each other. [Laughter]
"And sometimes we do engage in what Washington semanticists call an adversary relationship. But as President of one of the greatest nations on Earth, I hope that we never forget that the people who founded this country planned it that way. This Nation of ours would be unimaginable without a free and a vigorous press. That's why, when the Founders wrote the Bill of Rights, they made the first amendment the lead. And may that never change."
Gratitude,Lynell for posting President Carter’s comments. “ This Nation of ours would be unimaginable without a free and a vigorous press. That's why, when the Founders wrote the Bill of Rights, they made the first amendment the lead. And may that never change." It will be a miracle when a repub utters those words and sincerely means it. Looking back at tfg’s press conferences and his abuse of journalists, especially women, we are fortunate to be back in a time of Truth. Even if we don’t always like the Truth.
I have seen a claim that I have not verified that there were 20,000 newspapers in the US in 1900 and less than 1400 today. Freedom of a responsible press is essential to democracy, but that freedom is arguably eroded as distribution of news and media are increasingly concentrated in the hands of an ever smaller group of wealthy owners.
Ha.. Newspapers just might return. The "words" once printed on a piece of paper or in a book... not a digital tablet, don't change. If you want to re-read what you read yesterday, you can pick up the paper and read it again today. In this increasingly deceptive atmosphere we are living in, I like being able to know that something hasn't been digitally altered, or more simply, 'removed' or 'no longer there'..!!!
I can't say, i love the convenience and reach of online; our local newspapers, long since bought up by THE billionaire family in our region, became more an advertising platform than a news organization.
Changes to media regulation were probably, in my opinion, the most Orwellian turn (up to now) in the turn toward authoritarianism and plutocracy. Real "freedom" and its protection empowers the rights of ALL, which has always included protection from the bullying of the wealthy and powerful. It was the same for labor law, voting rights, racial equality, women's rights, gay rights, even environmental protection.
The currently so called "free market" is not one in which anyone gets an equal chance, it is one in which monopolies and market manipulation have come roaring back from the oppressive "owe my soul to the company store" and corrupted "Gilded Age". It is the age of "too big to fail" and "too big to hold accountable"; and that's neither freedom nor justice for all.
My husband seems to think that newspapers are a vestige of the past; he only reads the news online. I still subscribe to our local newspaper - independently owned, a rarity these days - not only because I like to read the news in print, but because I think it's important to support the local press. Industry concentration is very troubling to me.
I gave up my print subscription to our local paper about 2 years after it was sold to Gannett. It went from a good sized paper (minimum 4 sections a day, with a full op-ed page daily, and double on Sunday) with a paper of about 12-18 pages, no op-ed/letters to the editor, and 2-4 local stories a day. I still keep the digital subscription at less than half the cost of print, but the content is horrid.
Our local northern Michigan paper was bought by either Gannet or Sinclair (can't remember) andcwas awful, but is now owned by Alabama based CNHI LLC, and seems ALMOST fair and impartial, and better. For example, since we have 2 Native American bands in our region, they have added a Native features reporter (with help from a grant) who provides excellent historical and current news which I share with family. The op-eds have become mostly fair and balanced (without giving the trumpists a big megaphone). And I am tickled to see all the Democrat letters to the editor in what once was solid Republican country.
The Register Guard was an amazing local paper, established by the Baker family in the late 1920's (it's name reflects the merger of the Eugene Register and the Eugene Guard). It was sold to Gate House Media in 2018 then over to Gannett when that ownership blend happened, and the paper deteriorated rapidly.
My hometown paper (The Medford Mail Tribune) suffered worse, being sold to Gate House in 2013, went through numerous changes, and finally stopped printing in January 2023. A high school classmate and fellow musician was the last editor of the Medford paper; he retired in January 2023, just as the paper shut down.
It is my fervent hope that local news will rise again, but I fear the medium is gone for good.
Good to see these efforts to help support local journalism. It also keeps am eye on accountability on all that is happening with local political actions by elected officials. So important to have this oversight!
That is a problem, esp the ownership thing. Sadly, this has largely been a function of technology and cost effectiveness. It's happened across the board. Remember all those corner stores? mainly gone, replaced by scaled up convenience stores, most often as units in franchises. How many mall stores did Walmart knock out. Mixed blessings indeed, and in communication problematic. Fox et al for example. Billionaires are much charge...
I wonder how many of the reporters who filed stories on the 2023 WHCA knew its history? Historical context is an important light to shine on daily discourse, and as our nation ages, that context matures yet remains ever-important.
My first wife's family told a different story about Grover Cleveland's WH wedding. After refusing reporters at the wedding, Cleveland said he would allow his good friend, George Franklin Spinney, to attend, and Frank could brief the rest of the press afterward--as the first "pool reporter." Frank Spinney was my son's great-great-grandfather, a reporter for and later publisher of the New York Times.
Special kudos should be given to Biden for his references to the Black press. Most (non-Black) Americans don't know or appreciate the quality and importance of the Black magazines and newspapers he enumerated. The powerful and detailed new book HALF AMERICAN by Matthew Delmont about the treatment of Black men and women in the military during WW II is substantially based on articles printed by the Black press but ignored by the white press. I've never heard appreciation of those publications from such a public platform before, so again: Tnx to Biden (and his writers) for including that.
Censorship of all writing is a fascist frontal attack on the first amendment. Silencing dissent by throwing legislators out of their seats is likewise the same thing. When dissent is silenced and guns are legal, chaos results, thus building pressure for a dictator to run things.
I am pleased to see that the Seattle Public Library is now joined with the Brooklyn Library in NYC to make all books banned anywhere available to anyone who wants to read them. A major step in fighting fascist work has been taken on both coasts, Brooklyn was first. Tell your library about it!
Authoritarianism looms large in history, and leaves a very ugly legacy, and it comes in many forms; yet the the same mechanisms of dishonesty, exploitation, and violent force are consistently present under the hood.
"That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings." - Lincoln
Few kings today are autocrats, but it it is autocracy or oligarchy that has been our species most tragic plague since a least the start of recorded history. We are fools to watch it assembled in our own society and not raise a full alarm. I think few would really want to go where that pattern has historically led. Especially now when dangers that are escaping our control are rising, such as environmental unraveling while the forces of delusion, such as R. Senator Ron Johnson, fiddle. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/ron-johnson-global-warming-wisconsin-b2328361.html
JL, Thank you for the link to Johnson’s idiotic video statement about climate change. It is really beyond belief how these people get into office. Sigh.
The Republicans have rigged the system so they choose their voters instead of the other way around.
Sounds like "What's good for me is good for everyone else; even if it kills them -- Q.E.D."
Back to kindergarten.
Or what is good for me is all that matters. What I want is all that matters. Such people are the last people you would want to entrust with public power, although of course they are attracted to it.
Except that Kindergarten is the place that teaches many children to care and share in case we have not yet learned it. In a group, a society, a sociocultural environment. How to live in a Democracy. And that is in great jeopardy, too. What books are safe to read in a fascist country? What education is safe in a fascist society?
Sorry, I wasn't clear.
I just meant it was time to get back to square one and learn those simple basics plainly never grasped...
I got what you meant, referring to all the important things I needed, I learned in kindergarten. (paraphrased)
Q.E.D. "Which was to be demonstrated."
Thanks, Sandra.
Using a series of logically impossible combinations like Open Carry with Stand Your Ground, this cabal of quacks and crackpots is actively promoting madness while enabling murder.
I do not think it would be wise to publish here some politicians' current reinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment, yet note that deregulation and insecurity are seen by mafias as desirable and by despots and would-be despots as necessary.
I think that in the cult of gun worship, not simply possession of a weapon, a gun is a talisman for the embrace of violence as tool to negotiate life. Just listen to the rhetoric of such people. I hate violence, yet see circumstances in which it is the last (not the first) line of defense, but the application of violence is a choice like chemotherepy, a last if potentially life-saving option, one applied with ample caution, and one that likely to have destructive side effects. Even responsible and justifiable use of violence leaves "collateral damage", and sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Violence remains popular because it is a form of power.
Quod erat demonstrandum
Gerrymandering. Hoping we will see change coming in WI.
Alaska Supreme Court ruled gerrymandering is against the Alaska State Constitution. And Murkowski (AK) is trying to get democratic bills passed in the Senate.
Gerrymandering is a knife in the back of democracy, as is SCOTUS's tolerance of it.
If we are really going to be a self-determining society, "government of the people, by the people, for the people", then we have got to put our very best emotionally adult, professional competency as individuals into making it all work. That includes identifying professionals to further and protect our interests that are up to the daunting challenge. It also means minding the general welfare and not waiting to worry if a neighbors house catches fire until the whole town is ablaze, which used to happen back in the day, despite the community's best efforts.
Do it yourself governance, republic style is a share of collective responsibility for the whole show, as well as a share of choice.
Johnson is number than a pounded thumb, and I'd say the folks who voted for him are number than a pounded brain. (That's "numb -er" (as in "more numb", not "number" as in "digit".)
Who is to blame for voting for the like of jacket less jerk Johnson, MTG, Don the Con trump etc., our fellow citizens - thank you.
'Tucker Carlson and Kari Lake Announce Plans for Alternate Universe'
'WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a decision that sent shock waves through conservative circles, Tucker Carlson and Kari Lake announced that they are joining forces to create an alternate universe.'
'Although plans for their universe are in the primordial stage, the two right-wing icons said that it would exist outside the normal bounds of time and space.' (Satire, NewYorker)
The bizarro world. Oh sorry we already live there.
lol. Thanks, Fern.
That comment came straight from SNL. Wonder how many are going to be complaining about price of fresh veggies this summer after the “welcome” climate change has left central California crop lands under water and as it gets warmer the snow will melt and has no where to go but over farm lands again?
Christine, they will blame "Biden" like they blame him for the gas prices. The Indiana gas tax has raised twice since he took office....and Hoosiers still blame "Biden".
All I hear from the Fox brigade us Biden raised prices. The train derailment was blamed on him everything is blamed on him. There's no getting them to hear because their ears are closed to reason. It's truly unbelievable to watch close up in the human lab where I observe the white privileged male who is my husband.
So sorry you are living with that.
They’d blame Biden if the pizza delivery guy is late. The drive through person got your order wrong, and the the baby is two weeks past the delivery date.
You are so right. He is kind of like being their mother! He does have broad shoulders and a sharp mind!
You know what, Sharon, I blame Trump for EVERYTHING, so there! Biden has had to clean up his garbage he left behind. Dark Brandon is our Superman.
Yes, he is. I wish everyone felt the same as us!
JL, this post is the emblem of the repubs. “It’s good for me, so who cares about anyone or anywhere else!?” My polite paraphrase. Voices in the House. Voting Rights, Climate change, Women’s Right to Choose, Gun Laws, sexual orientation, 1619, Truth and Justice. Truth. Justice. College exams. Book Bans. Mickey Mouse. Libraries. Schooling, Education at all levels. Critical Race Theory that is critical for all students and citizens. Volumes of current and historic evidence. We have to not only pay attention, but speak out, stand up, March and gather and protect.
JL thank you for Lincoln’s quote. That is going on display at my home.
Thank you for the Lincoln quote.
Young man using his Constitutional right to protest was jailed and fined.
"Student sentenced to 10 days in jail for peaceful protest of anti-trans policies."
https://popular.info/p/student-sentenced-to-10-days-in-jail
I read that article right before this one. You beat me to posting the link. I would love to see this make national news. The First Amendment seems to only apply to conservatives in Arkansas.
The RNC proclaimed the January 6th insurrections to be "ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse"; words that must live in infamy.
I read that. I don’t subscribe to that newsletter, so I’ll post here (although I do subscribe to Judd Legum). I found the absurdity of the Judge and the sentence to be far short of the defendant rights. Remember what we did to the TN House for expelling 2 representatives that happened to be black? Now the Speaker of the House is looking, with good reason, as a corrupt individual who took great advantage of TN taxpayers. Time to do the same to the judge here. He’s a right wing hack who needs to be called out. I’m all for using my 1st amendment rights to call out this gross misinterpretation of 1A. Newspaper ads? Protests against this guy? Let’s work our way up the food chain till we get to SCOTUS.
Reminder; we own the government, not the other way around. We were already beyond the pale with the loss of Constitutional Rights overturning the voting rights act in 2013. The Dobbs decision took away more rights. This free for all of horrible legislation needs to be called on the carpet and in broad daylight. What are we thinking even considering voting Republican anywhere in this country?
I don't believe that we the people ever "owned" the government, though for sure if/when some of us managed to band together and persist, we have managed to influence it. However, what influence we had took a sharp turn for the worse before 2013 -- in 2010, to be exact, with the _Citizens United_ decision, allowing corporations and gazillionaires to have even greater influence on politics than they had before.
The checks and balances among legislative, executive, and judiciary become pretty useless when Big Money manages to co-opt all three branches.
You’re correct of course and it’s most likely going to burn hotter before Republicans burn out completely.
What we have is a document that clearly states how the government is required to be in service of the people. It has been contested since its inception, because there will always be hate in close minded hearts.
We aren’t those people, we want every American citizen to have the rights outlined in the Constitution, including those with closed hearts.
But, we also want justice for those who’ve been victimized by corrupt judges and law enforcement convoluting laws to fit their own prejudices.
Of course this takes unrelenting vigilance on the part of voters to understand who they’re voting for and what they stand for.
We can overturn Citizens United and codify reproductive and voters rights by using our voting voices. As Republicans and Democrat parties turn into Independents, we have to have open primaries in every state. Gerrymandering will be with us for a while, but I like to point out in most of my posts that heavily gerrymandered PA voted in our third Democrat Governor in a row with Gov. Josh Shapiro, flipped a Senate seat from red to blue with Senator John Fetterman and flipped out state House blue for the first time in close to 30 years! With our sites set on the state senate in 2024.
A vote is a TERRIBLE thing to waste.
AMEN!
Susanna
Agree! It's all about Big Money.
This started way before 2010. Read Molly Ivans "Bushwhacked". Corporate dark money to buy legislation and eliminate regulations was common under Bush. Now they create dummy "educational" foundations to hide the sources. Cracking down on this is playing "whack-a-mole." How else do our Senators and Representatives who make $177,000 per year become multi-millionaires?
I'm a Molly fan -- I still listen to "Who Let the Dogs In?" while driving around and pretend that she's still here. I like to blame everything that's gone wrong on Ronald Reagan, even though he was probably non compos mentis for much of his tenure, but then I remember Nixon's southern strategy and how the white South went Republican . . . I do wonder about those senators and reps who get rich while in office, even without writing a book, and I *really* wonder how anyone can make $10.3 million over eight years like Chief Justice Roberts's wife did.
Yeah, pretty damn fishy, i’d say...
The Bible, which most Republicans swear fealty to, says that the "love of money" is "the root of all evil. Of course it all gets explained away by claiming it's only those other people who "love" money, not righteous Republicans like Trump.
I pursue money and observe that few don't, but in my mind the "love" of money has to do with being willing to throw any other value (including other people) under the bus to maximize profit. Is that not malignant narcissism, and isn't that behavior pretty well described as "evil'?
I has also been said by many more people that Lord Acton that "power tends to corrupt"; and money is power; and readily exchangeable for political power in a corrupted society.
Most of us pursue money because of the way our economy is structured: money gets us the things we want and (just as important) helps us avoid the situations we don't want, like being broke on the street. I can barely imagine a society without some equivalent of money, that can make do with everyone growing or making most of what they need and bartering for the rest of it, but I know (and have known) many, many people who keep all this in perspective. None of them are running banks or huge corporations, however.
I will never vote for another Republican...no matter who they are the rest of my life. Most of the time only Republicans run in our Clay County, IN.
OMG, what's WRONG with these people?!?!? Having spoken (sometimes rather loudly in the hallway) on multiple occasions at school board meetings, as a teacher and after retirement as PTA president, I know first-hand that any and all elections matter.
😡😡😡 intimidation my a**.
Thank you Martyrita for posting this link. What a frightening unconstitutional outcome for that young man with outstanding morals in comparison to the person allowed to remain as a judge with such a background of anti democratic behavior.
Thank you. The article reminds us, once again, that the disturbing partisan position of our judges require close scrutiny both in state and federal positions. Is it even possible to achieve a state of "blind justice"? Unfortunately, I must admit, I would be pleased to know a "liberal" justice was appointed anywhere, as in WI. Double edged sword, as they say. What, in heaven's name, is the solution? I do strongly feel that that young man should not suffer. Perhaps there are too few protests against abridged freedoms, and perhaps the protests that do occur are too polite? Perhaps this time in history demands a more visible, coordinated and loud pushback? The judge and the board should be ashamed and so should the state government, but I am not sure shame is a known quantity with these people. With "God and guns on their side", they can do no wrong. Right? Wrong, very wrong!!
Whatever the partisan leanings of a judge, a respectable judges have a fiduciary duty to be as aware as possible of their preferences and to keep them reasonably separated from their prescribed duties. Is not the essence of corruption the misuse of entrusted powers to serve personal ends at a cost to those one is pledged and payed to serve? Overall respect for the system depends on avoiding even the undue "appearance" of corruption.
Yes, but unfortunately, a few did not get that message in their handbooks. Our laws must change when one partisan judge can hold millions hostage!
Who watches the watchers? In the end, the buck stops with us. In the end we can't allow corruption to take root and grow. If I recall, it says something in the Tao Te Ching about pulling weeds while they are small. A an avid gardener, I know that's true, but too often let things get away from me. Better late than never.
I just watched Heather’s video today. She addresses these right-wing justices and their “reluctancy” to have ethics. Imagine that!
It is high time that SCOTUS receives some close and public scrutiny.
Chief Justice Roberts' refusal to answer Congressional questions merely inflames the public sense that something has gone completely awry. The more scrutiny they receive, the longer the list of ethical conflicts gets. Surely, opening up some windows, letting in some light by engaging in public dialog regarding the court's ethical criteria, is the only way restore confidence in the institution once again. That and examining (AND fixing) the critical issue Marlene Lerner-Bigley brought up below.
This state needs a refreshed motto: Arkansas: Proud to Swim in the Slime.
...with a porcine liar & white nationalist as governor. She lied daily until she didn't do press conferences anymore & Arkansas elected this thing.
She got tired of clutching her pearls.
The Dead Marshes east of Emyn Muil would swallow her.
The most ignorant, vile, and every other negative adjective to describe stench odorous swamp dweller.
Thank you for this..It should be in the national news.
Arkansas, once the home of Clinton. Now occupied by a very Wicked Witch.
The Huckabee family of Arkansas are a den of liars, hyper religious puritanical dominators.
AMEN!
Appalling!
Locally, a school district removed 36 books from the shelves without first following their own policies to evaluate them and I guess that will actually happen ex post facto. Many on the list I didn't recognize, but two were by Toni Morrison and one (which escapes me at the moment) that I couldn't even figure out why it was there. I used to be a high school librarian and also taught some classes. I did have one person who wanted the books about creation put in the science number which didn't happen. There were a couple cases involving the English department which were basically acts of revenge. We had one complaint about a book taught in an English class which happened to be by an author who was visiting...teacher had disciplined the student. Our English department taught a lot of novels. If a parent objected to a book, the student spent time in the library, including one case where the family was famous for suing people for all sorts of things as a sort of scam. Their daughter spent many English classes in the library, so she wouldn't be "corrupted." My local ballot for the Salem Keizer school board is ready to be mailed. We have a good slate of progressives opposed by the local wing nuts who would try to institute the right wing agenda. I have to say, watching the current horror stories at schools and libraries that I am glad to be long retired. And right now I am reading a fascinating book that I have mentioned before, God, An Anatomy. Plenty there to offend certain people. Three chapters on genitals and one on divine sex. Now I am thinking of reading some verses of the Bible to see how they have been sanitized. Also people forget that Judaism and Christianity existed in a general cultural milieu which influenced the Bible and the image of God in it.
Keep talking! You may get me to read that book yet. Altho my sidetable is heavy with books already. LOL. May I ask your state? I am so uncomfortable about what is happening here in NH....
Salem, Oregon. And read the book!!
Ah I was wondering if it was an east coast Salem. Thanks! We are having a slew of problems out east as well.
God and His anatomy on the way here!
Super. I would be interested in your observations as you read. I will never look at the Bible in the same way again.
Bravo!
"Free people read freely"
Librarian at TIME 100 people of note Tracy D Hall
Thank you, Heather, for another letter that brightly highlights the contrasts between the administrations of tfg and President Biden. Wondering about the current status of VOA and Michael Pack, I am very pleased to find out he was asked by Biden to resign on January 20, 2021–barely two hours after he took office.
https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958875488/voice-of-america-ceo-pack-defined-by-scandal-resigns-at-bidens-request
A President who took the oath of office, made a speech - then went right to work. And every day since, "Dark Brandon" has set an example not by playing golf and ridiculing people - but by working hard to right the ship state. By surrounding himself with real experts as members of his team. By setting a steady course of decency and dogged diplomacy. Proud, I am.
As Lindsay Graham said before he sold his soul: "How can you not like Joe Biden?"
" 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1652739499426824194
Many of the comments from the right are gratuitously cruel, because that's what they are.
The ugliness of these Tweets actually makes me sick to my stomach. Sorry I started off my day reading them.
Evidently a high priority.
"Asked to resign" is too gentle. It should have been a very public "You have three hours to resign and leave of the building. After that, you'll be fired and thrown out of the building." What a loathsome creature...
As HCR's style to remind us. And in this instance, of another of the horrors of the prior administration. To think they "legally" continue to use the First Amendment for their hooliganisms!
Thank you for answering that question, and for sharing the NPR story!
You’re welcome, Mitchell.
Stunning partisan rats nest of a legacy left by Michael Pack. Thanks for the link.
You’re welcome, K.
Thank you once again, HCR. You have an uncanny ability to identify and write about some of the most important subjects out there. Concisely. Knowledgeably. Beautifully.
Let’s go, Joe. Prof Richardson is right when she describes the President’s remarks as oddly moving. On point.
https://youtu.be/OKJK99B6yEg
Salud, Michael.
🗽
Thank you, Christine. I was unable to catch it live and was going to search it down this morning. You saved me the time.
A good week to you!
If you get a chance, watch it. At least Biden's remarks! And Roy Wood, Jr.'s too. It is fun, poignant, moving and will lift you up.
Dark Brandon rises!😎👍
I looooove Roy Wood, Jr. and was truly inspired by his family history and degree in journalism. 🤗 He knows how/when to bite.
Yes, he’s so brilliant! I loved that he gave his mother and father a loving shout-out.
I agree! I loved it and made yesterday...extra special!
Same back, Miselle.
Salud.
🗽
Thx so much for sharing this-beautiful! Go Joe!
Thank you, Christine, for the link. You made it so easy!
It's wonderful to watch, stirring, and uplifting.
And, HCR in the room as a percepient witness to restoring impotant historical norms. 🙏
I thought his speech had humor, good jabs, and a solid message about the inextricable connection between democracy maintained and a free press. Worth listening to the whole thing. Better than a SNL skit or one of the latenight pundits. Thank you, Heather. I'm including a link to it on youtube .
https://youtu.be/bDZ1H4ABmiU
I love that you were there!! How fun! And fitting. I know you’re an historian first, but your Letter From An American is my most important news source every day. The one I never miss.
Yes! Feels like WE were there, too, when HCR represents us!
Yes!
Thank you, Dr. Richardson for another great and interesting story, especially the history of the WHCA of which I was unaware. Having a free and honest press corps and broadcast or cable TV REAL news is essential to any democracy. I salute the few truly honest members of the media who report what is happening without weighting it with their "both sides" garbage. Cheers to you for keeping us not only updated but giving us the historical background as a bonus.
Hearing about both sides is OK, but false equivalency is definitely NOT.
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”
“You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”
Point well made, one of the essentials of critical thinking skills.
Finding real news now is like finding a leprechaun sitting atop a unicorn. or a griffin.
Agreed!
I stocked up on Purina Unicorn chow & Corned beef for the leprechaun just in case...... 🥇
LOL
I concur - nice to know the history of the WHCA and D.
President Biden was on his game. At 80. He’s running. Trump is running and lost Saturday night.
Tucker the Fucker of FOX was roasted. The nation and the world watched. Australia is lost.
Antisemite Woodrow Wilson hid with his stroke. Princeton University did not care.
The comic was Black and brilliant.
No one touched fascism - the ghost of Christmas past and present.
Fascism was the hidden agenda at the dinner. Freedom is on trial in America. Biden said exactly that.
Oddly comforting. Yes. A virtual reality, an ignored curiosity at FOX and in Texas and Florida.
And the House of Representatives.
If only we could slay the dragon of ageism in this culture!
We have many dragons to slay in our culture.
I think Biden did well to lean into it at the WHCA Dinner. When you confront people's concerns and are sharp and self-confident enough to turn fears to laughter, you go a long way to defeating that concern.
And let us not forget, NO ONE, no matter what their age, is guaranteed tomorrow.
The Scrriptures, are Clear ! on THAT ! MUCH, of MANKIND, Should look iinto the Mirror, at THESELVES! and DETERMINE, where they REALLY STAND, when THEY BOW, on Bended KNEE, BEFORE Their LORD/GOD ALMIGHTY!
And Montana, and Missouri, and Tennessee, and....
Well said, Sandy!
Thank you, again, HCR, for the history lesson that puts depth and perspective into current events. It’s all a process; always evolving.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is an object lesson that an American’s civil rights do not travel with him to foreign shores, especially into places like Putin’s Russia. Those rights are not even guaranteed here, as we have seen of late. They must be nurtured, cared for, and maintained against “patriots” designing to take those rights away from some of us.
Malignantly narcissistic predators love to cover themselves with claims of righteousness when they really only value people who look and think just like they do. Real patriots care enough about their country to care about the country as a whole, and the planet on which it is situated. Real patriots care enough about their county to admit and address its flaws.
You understand why I put the p word in quotation marks.
But Evan Gershovich knows that.
I'm sure he knew this was a possibility before he went.
And he did it anyway because that's what reporters do.
Delighted you were able to attend! Hope the laughs in jest by the President himself were well received. Seems a great way to deflect criticism. Kudos to Dark Brandon! 😊
I’m so excited Heather got to go! I think it’s the one thing I’m envious of in DC. I think it’d be such fun. Everything else about DC, I think would be exhausting.
Maybe the biggest gift to democracy would be to revisit the power of the presidential pardon, a political gimmick used mainly on the last day of a presidents time in office with no oversight and apparently above the law with no limits.
Steve Bannon and Roger Stone are good examples. Convicted incarcerated criminals unleashed on the world that went right back to crime and chaos. That ain't democracy.
All pardons (some are just and meaningful) should be done prior to the president’s last YEAR in office. Let there be consequences.
No, it seems like a holdover from monarchy.
I think the biggest gift would be a national effort, a triage if you will, to hold all laws, policies and practices up to a benchmark of governance "of the people, by the people, for the people"; does it help or hurt the effort? And adjust accordingly.
Yes yes YES, William! Those questionable pardons by Fake 45 should be revoked and I do not think there is anything in the Constitution that says they can’t.
This piece is why we subscribe. Thank you.
Heather thank you for your letter. It is so reassuring to see the contrast between Biden and Trump. Biden relating and talking with the free press and Trump hiding from the press except for a few who support him. No wonder Trump loved Putin. Biden is helping us heal from the ravages of Trump and many of the radicals in the Republican Party. Thanks for reminding us of what Democracy is. We need to keep fighting for Democracy and voters rights.
Thank you, Heather, for highlighting the history of the WHCA. The following is an excerpt from President Carter's speech at the Correspondents' dinner in 1979. He highlights, all kidding aside, our nation's steadfast support for freedom of the press.
"It's been a pleasure being with you tonight and to have shared a few quiet moments on this solemn occasion. In our day-to-day dealings with each other, we occasionally—in our day-to-day dealings with each other, we often—in our day-today dealings with each other, we almost always aggravate the hell out of each other. [Laughter]
"And sometimes we do engage in what Washington semanticists call an adversary relationship. But as President of one of the greatest nations on Earth, I hope that we never forget that the people who founded this country planned it that way. This Nation of ours would be unimaginable without a free and a vigorous press. That's why, when the Founders wrote the Bill of Rights, they made the first amendment the lead. And may that never change."
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-white-house-correspondents-associations-annual-dinner
Thanks Lynell!
Gratitude,Lynell for posting President Carter’s comments. “ This Nation of ours would be unimaginable without a free and a vigorous press. That's why, when the Founders wrote the Bill of Rights, they made the first amendment the lead. And may that never change." It will be a miracle when a repub utters those words and sincerely means it. Looking back at tfg’s press conferences and his abuse of journalists, especially women, we are fortunate to be back in a time of Truth. Even if we don’t always like the Truth.
I have seen a claim that I have not verified that there were 20,000 newspapers in the US in 1900 and less than 1400 today. Freedom of a responsible press is essential to democracy, but that freedom is arguably eroded as distribution of news and media are increasingly concentrated in the hands of an ever smaller group of wealthy owners.
Ha.. Newspapers just might return. The "words" once printed on a piece of paper or in a book... not a digital tablet, don't change. If you want to re-read what you read yesterday, you can pick up the paper and read it again today. In this increasingly deceptive atmosphere we are living in, I like being able to know that something hasn't been digitally altered, or more simply, 'removed' or 'no longer there'..!!!
I can't say, i love the convenience and reach of online; our local newspapers, long since bought up by THE billionaire family in our region, became more an advertising platform than a news organization.
Rupert lobbied and got changes that allowed him to buy a ridiculous number of news outlets.
Changes to media regulation were probably, in my opinion, the most Orwellian turn (up to now) in the turn toward authoritarianism and plutocracy. Real "freedom" and its protection empowers the rights of ALL, which has always included protection from the bullying of the wealthy and powerful. It was the same for labor law, voting rights, racial equality, women's rights, gay rights, even environmental protection.
The currently so called "free market" is not one in which anyone gets an equal chance, it is one in which monopolies and market manipulation have come roaring back from the oppressive "owe my soul to the company store" and corrupted "Gilded Age". It is the age of "too big to fail" and "too big to hold accountable"; and that's neither freedom nor justice for all.
My husband seems to think that newspapers are a vestige of the past; he only reads the news online. I still subscribe to our local newspaper - independently owned, a rarity these days - not only because I like to read the news in print, but because I think it's important to support the local press. Industry concentration is very troubling to me.
I gave up my print subscription to our local paper about 2 years after it was sold to Gannett. It went from a good sized paper (minimum 4 sections a day, with a full op-ed page daily, and double on Sunday) with a paper of about 12-18 pages, no op-ed/letters to the editor, and 2-4 local stories a day. I still keep the digital subscription at less than half the cost of print, but the content is horrid.
Our local northern Michigan paper was bought by either Gannet or Sinclair (can't remember) andcwas awful, but is now owned by Alabama based CNHI LLC, and seems ALMOST fair and impartial, and better. For example, since we have 2 Native American bands in our region, they have added a Native features reporter (with help from a grant) who provides excellent historical and current news which I share with family. The op-eds have become mostly fair and balanced (without giving the trumpists a big megaphone). And I am tickled to see all the Democrat letters to the editor in what once was solid Republican country.
The Register Guard was an amazing local paper, established by the Baker family in the late 1920's (it's name reflects the merger of the Eugene Register and the Eugene Guard). It was sold to Gate House Media in 2018 then over to Gannett when that ownership blend happened, and the paper deteriorated rapidly.
My hometown paper (The Medford Mail Tribune) suffered worse, being sold to Gate House in 2013, went through numerous changes, and finally stopped printing in January 2023. A high school classmate and fellow musician was the last editor of the Medford paper; he retired in January 2023, just as the paper shut down.
It is my fervent hope that local news will rise again, but I fear the medium is gone for good.
Brier Dudley at the Seattle Times covers the work to preserve local coverage.
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/west-coast-steps-up-to-save-local-journalism/
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/bipartisan-support-revives-local-news-lifelines/
Good to see these efforts to help support local journalism. It also keeps am eye on accountability on all that is happening with local political actions by elected officials. So important to have this oversight!
Interesting!
Sad, but even more, it is tragic.
I kept the print editions for the grocery coupons. Switched to digital because even those were lousy
That is a problem, esp the ownership thing. Sadly, this has largely been a function of technology and cost effectiveness. It's happened across the board. Remember all those corner stores? mainly gone, replaced by scaled up convenience stores, most often as units in franchises. How many mall stores did Walmart knock out. Mixed blessings indeed, and in communication problematic. Fox et al for example. Billionaires are much charge...
I wonder how many of the reporters who filed stories on the 2023 WHCA knew its history? Historical context is an important light to shine on daily discourse, and as our nation ages, that context matures yet remains ever-important.
I'd be surprised if it was as high as a half dozen.
My first wife's family told a different story about Grover Cleveland's WH wedding. After refusing reporters at the wedding, Cleveland said he would allow his good friend, George Franklin Spinney, to attend, and Frank could brief the rest of the press afterward--as the first "pool reporter." Frank Spinney was my son's great-great-grandfather, a reporter for and later publisher of the New York Times.
Interesting to know.
COOL!
Special kudos should be given to Biden for his references to the Black press. Most (non-Black) Americans don't know or appreciate the quality and importance of the Black magazines and newspapers he enumerated. The powerful and detailed new book HALF AMERICAN by Matthew Delmont about the treatment of Black men and women in the military during WW II is substantially based on articles printed by the Black press but ignored by the white press. I've never heard appreciation of those publications from such a public platform before, so again: Tnx to Biden (and his writers) for including that.
Agree! I thought it a heartfelt acknowledgement and educational for (probably) the majority of Americans watching.