There’s a moment in Representative Adam Schiff’s 2021 book Midnight in Washington that jumps out. The book centers around the first impeachment of former president Trump for withholding congressionally approved funds for Ukraine to fight off Russian incursions. In managing the impeachment trial before the Senate, Schiff (D-CA) and his team had prepared thoroughly and carefully to demonstrate that Trump had, in fact, withheld the money in order to force Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to help Trump rig the 2020 election.
Rubio in his last election said he would be a check upon Trump. He ended up being a Trumpanze. Ian decimates Florida due to climate change and both Rubio & Scott are climate change deniers. WHERE IS THE PRESS CONFRONTING THEM AND REMINDING VOTERS OF THEIR LIES? The Press is pretty worthless also. The Press is not as culpable as the GOP, but it is culpable.
I would disagree wrt the press’s culpability. Their greed for clicks and likes has replace their journalistic integrity. They provided the orange monster with billions of dollars in free advertising based on the outrageous statements he made in the 2016 campaign. They literally got him elected
Now they fan the flames of discontent wrt Biden’s valiant efforts to put some stability into our government and economy, instead of reporting on the dangerous hypocrisy of authoritarian GOP lawlessness and supremacy
Trusted news sources fall by the wayside as billionaires buy up media outlets to promote agenda and profit taking
The Watchdogs have been fed a meal that tastes better than the “integrity” that used to satisfy them. Money and Power is their preferred meat
As my DIL might say, “We’re Screwed”. Actually, she doesn’t say “screwed”
The press was never a shining beacon of free thought and journalistic principle. Almost always, it has been characterized by partisanship (often much worse than today) and pandering to whatever would increase sales. Go back and watch The Front Page (one of the best movies ever made) to get an idea of what it was like, and in many ways is again.
Agree, Jon. The term “yellow journalism” was coined in the 1890s. So while there have been bright spots in our national reporting, the opposite is closer to our historical norm. The Fairness Doctrine was conceived by the FCC in 1947 & not backed by Congress until 1954, lasting only until 1987. That’s a short period of time for the existence in the US of journalistic integrity.
I've never understood why another Fairness Doctrine hasn't been proposed and passed. The Dems have been in power often enough to enact one that addresses changes in technology and society. The Republican influence in my lifetime seems always to have been at odds with the good of the people. If we can't make the press more accountable, it seems it will be impossible to get our country on track. Even PBS NewsHour seems to have lost its mission to an extent. I have the feeling that the individual journalists and reporters' hearts are in the right place but that they aren't allowed to keep an interviewee honest. They can't follow through when John Thune (R, S. Dakota) tells his lies by saying "That has been disproven," or "That's a lie," which happens almost every time he is a guest, and he seems to be the designated liar of the Republican party to explain the latest mischief the R's are engaged in. Judy Woodruff seems to be hamstrung at that point, every time he's on, going on to the next question without holding him accountable. Don't the Republicans have enough mouthpieces of their own without being allowed to further spread their lies through PBS? NPR's Steve Inskeep has actually managed his guests when they lie. According to Wikipedia: "In January 2022, Inskeep interviewed former U.S. President Donald Trump on many issues including COVID-19 vaccinations, the 2020 presidential election and the future of the Republican Party, specifically in the 2022 midterm elections. When Inskeep pressured Trump with questions related to the attempts to overturn the election results and the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Trump suddenly hung up the phone interview.[9]" Now that's journalism. Will Judy Woodruff--who I have a high regard for--be replaced with someone who might be more forceful, or someone who kowtows to management which is buckling down to donors, I wonder?
Jennifer Rubin has an article in today's WaPo regarding the media and what can be done to remediate their part in the horror show that belongs on the GOP stage.
Wacko weather is showing up all over the world with increasing frequency. Too many record aberrations to dismiss as normal variation. You might as well deny the existence of the moon. Assembled numbers are pointing the same direction. https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/300/video-climate-spiral/ Does the press not love its children too?
Climate scientists term our current Human-assissted Weather phenomena "Global Climate Chaos", not the Press' "Global Warming". Word choice matters here just as with #tfg who is a Thief, not just a faulty packer (and, yes, staffers say he was actively involved in packing out - finally)..
Words do matter. My wife and I cringe everytime we hear a well meaning news reporter make statements describing actual conditions or disputing misleading or false statements using the same words in the misinformers use. This results in some confusion, some reinforcement of the misinformation and no clear rebuttal with clear indisputable language and facts. All news personnel should be required to attend classes in vocabulary, language, sentence structure and formation of clear thoughts.
I taught expository writing for many years. I have had students thank me years later including the one who won a case at the Nevada Supreme Court. Words do matter as i have said many times to those who want to misuse them. I often correct the grammar of reporters and others on TV as I watch.
I would have loved to take your course(s). I have been freelance writing for years. I have been "accused" of being 'too brutally honest', resulting in seldom being published. Long ago I learned how the mere placement or sequence of words determines the context and the outcome.
Thank you. I really enjoyed teaching that course. I was mainly the librarian, but also taught as well. Too brutally honest likely means that you told the unvarnished truth. I am reading now a book called the Legacy of Violence about the British Empire. And it is hard to read because it is brutal unvarnished truth. The government and the colonial administrators tried to hide a lot of this, so the research for the author was sometimes difficult. Keep up your good work.
I wish I had been in your class. I find that the gap between my viewpoint and that of someone immersed in the world of Fox News or Zerohedge is exasperated by the words and if I can use expository explanations rather than emotional responses, I can sometimes break through the smoke screen.
Thank you. It wasn't for everyone, so very small or even one on one. It is pretty amazing and so difficult to explain to such a person. Kudos for breaking through sometimes. I have had no success really. Usually I have to block the person. For these people dealing with an educated person is a threat to them and being elitist.
You CAN be in her class (or feel as though you are) since every Thursday, Heather does an hour of American history. It’s live on her Facebook page, but there are several years’ worth available on her YouTube channel (the YouTube posting is usually approx a month behind the Facebook livestream [though all the lectures are on FB, as well]; you’ll definitely get an education!)
It is amazing how many errors the media makes. I think it is partly that they are too rushed, and partly that both modern media and the public are less schooled in reading and writing. There is a lawyer on Twitter, @nyttypos, who copy-edits the New York Times as a hobby.
Chasing ratings and "getting there first" have been a huge disservice to the media world. Failure to properly source an event or to correct a report made in error appears not to be high on the list of "to-do's" in the media. Front-page errors often find their corrections buried in later pages in later issues.
St Ray Gun has always been a terrible president to me. He did so much damage and we are now dealing with the problems he helped create, some of which has been allowed to become nearly insurmountable, but are good political fodder for Rs.
The local news channel we watch has finally decided that they can talk about climate chaos although they use climate change. Here in the Willamette Valley in Oregon where it used to start raining at the end of August, we are have had exactly a couple days of puny rain since it stopped raining during the summer. And no rain in sight and it is already October. We are still watering....bone dry.
At least a decade ago, USDA in consultation with NOAA predicted the Ohio River Valley would become the "New" Napa-Sonoma by 2040. It seems to be happening sooner rather than later temperature-wise.
Here in Alaska we have had rain nearly every day since the beginning of July. One of my joys in life is berrypicking......wild berries. The cranberries have not had a chance to develop and the blueberries are sour. First time ever.
I like the phrase climate chaos. Ds have never learned the words do matter and now a lot of the local R ads talk about "defunding the police". If ever there was a stupid slogan, that is it.
I agree that it's possible the worst slogan ever and is counter-productive to what needs to happen. However, I believe "Defund the Police" originated our of the Black Lives Matter protests & marches. And like you and others I don't like how the DNC (not all Democrats) articulates issues; that's why I'm an independent. But Democrats aren't to blame for the phrase. Also, it means different things to different groups. The following link goes into the variations on what the phrase is understand to express.
"Last June, video of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd, a Black man, went viral on social media. Uprisings took hold across hundreds of U.S. cities, and activist calls to “defund the police” went mainstream." https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/defund-the-police/
I understand why this came to be and I wish it had been about reforming the police, adding crisis teams, etc. The problem is that the phrase is now being used in ads against Ds. I don't know about elsewhere, but here in Oregon, Salinas and McLeod-Skinner are being targeted. Salinas is the daughter of a police officer and voted for money for the state police. McLeod-Skinner was at the protests in Portland. She was correct in her view of the feds death star sent. Btw, a black protester here in Salem was just awarded a million dollars for what she suffered from the police during the George Floyd protests. Several cases coming up in Portland or at trial now with no judgements yet.
Climate crisis is a symptom. Global warming is the cause. This has been clear to nearly 100% of legitimate clinate scientists since James Hansen’s analysis and modeling based on historical data proved the case in the 1980s. People who deny that, regardless of their choice of words, either have not looked into it or do not know how to estimate the reliability of information. The term “global warming” accurately states the fundamental problem. Terms like “climate crisis” describe the changes caused by the fundamental problem.
Sadly, part of the "cynicism" of authoritarian followers assuming everyone is lying is the distrust of "experts," seen most clearly in the responses to hurricane Ian of residents marooned on their islands off Florida and in their houses along the coast who, when told they must evacuate, decided instead to hunker down and wait to see just how bad it would be...and then cried out for help and rescue when Ian proved to be as bad as the "expert" weather forecasters had predicted; "They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house." Mark 8:18
I am reminded of when Sarah Palin railed against the educated and the intellectuals. Josef Stalin executed one million of his intellectuals. Fear of fact and knowledge leads to massive destruction of human life and thought.
The blame for the lack of evacuation orders falls squarely on DeSantis, though he will slither out of it. While I left Florida nearly 23 years ago, I know firsthand that hurricanes changing course in ways that defy prediction. A slight shift in direction, especially along the coast, can spell the difference between a stormy day and widespread destruction and death. Ian is a classic example.
Growing up at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay with parents who would set up nautical charts on the dining room table to track hurricanes that appeared to be heading up the Atlantic coast, I learned to think of hurricanes as being much like footballs, you never know which direction it may bounce when it hits the ground. We had a 30' sloop in a slip at the yacht club and my father wanted to be clear on what additional lines to add and how much slack he could afford to allow the boat to rise safely in higher water without bouncing off the pier or pilings. One year (1954, Hurricane Hazel, Cat 4), he borrowed a 50 lb. mushroom anchor and moored her out in the river and away from the pier. Worked effectively except for the thumbnail he lost when the anchor rolled on the deck as he prepared to set it.
Wow! You ARE taking me back! When I was a wee lad in the early 1950s, we listened to "The Shadow" on the radio. 1950-1952. Growing up where the family grouped around the radio to listen to programs such as "The Shadow", "Dragnet", "Boston Blackie" and other shows including Glenn Miller and big band was a great period to grow up. The mind was called to imagine (visualize) the events taking place. As a footnote, years ago while living in Boston a neighbor's dog was named Shadow. Of course, that young couple had heard enough "Shadow" commentaries!
Some of the press is splendid! As I explain to those who think I am in a bubble: I get good sources on MSNBC (frequently more intelligent than CNN, plus a source of as much Fox as one can bear), read WAPO and The NY Times, and occasionally whatever pops up (the Barents Observer). As a trained researcher, I can sort sources. But seeing clearly now how little history Americans know, how very insular we are, I am extremely worried, along with every American who is watching where we are being taken by the Big Lie and Putin, that we may never recover.
I agree that there is splendid journalism going on, and it is there if you look for it, but that journalism that matters seems less in the public spotlight than it once was. It seems to me that the role of the press changed with Reagan, out of whose hand they seemed to feed with "The Great Communicator" and plenty of ongoing deference that they had not shown to Nixon or Carter. I stopped watching commercial TV news in the run-up to the Bush II Iraq War, where the mainstream sources I followed were practically waving pompoms for conflict to begin, even as the Casus Belli was absurdly thin from the getgo; and which sources such as the Guardian, which I began reading, showed as fraudulent even before the bombing began. US reporting seemed complicit in a way it had not been in the Vietnam conflict. Similarly, the investigative reporting of Watergate somehow seemed to me more aggressive than for the much greater scandals of the Trump Era. Since "Jan 6th" this seems to have improved, but still somewhat timid given the gravity of events, or at least from I personally notice.
Most people cannot sort sources and now with the internet everyone is an expert on everything. I do agree that some of the press is splendid. I do like Lester Holt and we do watch the NBC news.
Then we share many of the same people - informed and making their way as best they can through the avalanche of daily news. And we have HRC as teacher, organizer, and checker!
While the weather is increasingly "wacko," the evidence that climate change could be an existential threat has been mounting for many years. Consistently, the most dire scientific models have proven to be shockingly accurate ones.
The horror of what's going to happen globally is beyond the imagination of most people, or their willingness to accept. As I've said before in this forum, our descendants will loathe us for what we have wrought and lacked the will to combat.
Last week on a program on either CNN or MSNBC, Chef Andres (World Central Kitchen) went off on quite an excellent and detailed rant summarizing exactly the wide-ranging interconnected threats that are rapidly bearing down on all of us, world-wide.
Does the party of death love its children? I guess not. They are too busy indoctrinating them to be against every one who is not like themselves. Instead of focusing on real problems, they are in a hissy fit because a fat black woman (who is also a classically trained flutist) played Madison's flute among other nonsense.
Just read an excellent article about Florida in Popular Information that delineates what DeSatan was doing in the last year when he should have been focused on climate chaos including making it extremely difficult for local areas to do anything themselves. The article ended by quoting him: "We are not doing any left-wing stuff." You know, like trying to mitigate climate chaos in your state....in addition to focusing on all sorts of cultural nonsense and those pesky asylum seekers.
Oh yes, right wingers having a hissy fit about a flute they had never heard of (and I hadn't either) before an overweight black woman played it. Suddenly it is as sacred as the national anthem.
My sarcasm apparently didn't penetrate my written words. Many climate deniers (I know a few) believe that God and only God is responsible for anything going on in our atmosphere. We are living in a religious theocracy. It's scary.
The press is not only “as culpable as the GOP” but as complicit with their lie-propelled drive towards an authoritarian form of government. Heather reminded us of how Trump’s 2016 campaign cross-haired Hillary’s private email server to vilify her in the eyes of the electorate. I vividly recall how the press and tv news programs gave ample coverage to his accusations while minimizing the monstrosity of HIS abnormal behaviors, closet skeletons and mafia-like economic “successes.” Not that I was a fan of Hillary (the Democratic Party should have ushered a stronger candidate), but had the news media equally highlighted all of Trump’s vices as they did Hillary’s emails, today he wouldn’t be tfg — and we wouldn’t be having this surreal conversation about the impending global-decimating catastrophe that hardly anyone is doing anything to stop!
The press is owned by billionaires, and run by millionaires. They make their money with clicks, and good news doesn't get clicks. Why would they want a peaceful, healthy, functioning world?
I have NO idea what you were watching. BUT it certainly wasn’t what I was watching. I heard the TRUTH from Rachel Maddow and Ari Melber and Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC. You must have been watching Faux News by Rupert Murdoch.
Meanwhile, MSNBC's Morning Joe gave Trump hundreds of hours of free press and bottomless accolades without ever addressing what a nightmare we were entering into. Don't give MSNBC a free pass.
Yes. Joe is a Republican at heart, I believe. Even this morning, the coverage about the Dems chances in the mid-terms was negative. So much so that even I could see the bias. I've learned to take him with the salt lick (when a grain won't do).
The letter is remarkably free of trolls. Please do not describe anyone with whom you happen to disagree as crazy or insane. People can emphatically disagree without using either of those words.
I didn’t have cable news back then. I did watch PBS Newshour daily (and still do), but the morning network (all three non-Fox) news programs were not equitable to both candidates. BTW, I never watch anything on Fox (not a single program).
It WAS ridiculous! When tfg started censoring some of the press at his briefings, I wondered if they ever wished they had been more fair to Hillary. She wouldn’t have ever banned journalists from her press briefings!
To be fair, a lot of us were against Hillary, for a long list of understandable reasons. For me, it was because she and Bill ushered in the era of neoliberalism which all but destroyed the party of FDR.
I agree, but to me it was choice between someone who was competent and does understand what service in government means and someone who should never have power. I have had many arguments with people who even after death star was occupying the WH, would not admit that maybe HRC was the better choice. Now we have a Supreme Court that is in the process of undoing years of hard progress and our democracy is on the brink of being an autocratic theocratic nightmare. This would not have happened with HRC and she would not have tried to destroy our foreign commitments and would have approached COVID much differently. So while HRC was not my first choice and I did not vote for her in the primary, I had no problem of voting for her in the general.
Well, Holly, you WERE wrong about the Clintons ushering in the era of neoliberalism. And YES, it did destroy not just the Democrats but the entire United States. And many other countries around the world. Like, try Pinochet and Chile. And it came out of the University of Chicago: Neoliberalism began accelerating in importance with the establishment of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947, whose founding members included Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Karl Popper, George Stigler and Ludwig von Mises. AND especially with Reaganomics. MILTON FRIEDMAN - LOOK HIM UP! 1947 is when neoliberalism was floated in, taking over the Keynesian theory of economics under which we were DOING FINE. But the main President & wife who debuted neoliberalism was REAGAN. Heard of Reaganomics? We're still living under that
No, and I resent your remark about my being insane and all caps to boot. I was surprised actually, but it seemed to me she was dissing HRC, not praising her. That was my take at the time and it did bother me. I am sure she does hate death star and I am back to enjoying her reports.
Really. I read voraciously and live in a house full of books which are largely nonfiction. We both read all the time. I am well educated, well read, fairly intelligent and I don't appreciate silly inane insults like you have just delivered. I can't imagine what exactly you are trying to achieve here except being incredibly boorish. I do understand the difference between Keynes and Milton Friedman for example. I recently read an excellent book on Keynes, the left half was about his economics and the views of many other economists. I am reading now about neoliberalism in Britain with regard to the British Empire. Save your rancor for the far right radicals who are trying to destroy the country and belong to the party of death. Get over yourself.
The press is complicit in a different way: self-censorship. Every writer, editor, publisher, no matter what their political opinion, knows that the second they reveal the subject of climate change in their piece, they will lose about half their audience. So they try to shy away from an open discussion.
Just before the last election, I mounted an art exhibition on the subject of flooding due to the climate breakdown. We had 12 artists' work displayed in a huge white room flooded with a foot of water. Visitors picked their size of knee-high rubber boots, and entered wading through the show.
We had a good press list of 137 contacts, from art magazines, to local tv news, to community newsletters. How many covered our exhibition? Zero.
Jeff, I read about your art installation several months ago. I believe your concept was a wonderful way to have an interactive art exhibit. Please keep up the good work. There are people out there that need the message brought to them repeatedly in creative ways. Your continued work will be much appreciated.
Jeff, I very much wish that what you are saying wasn’t true; that the press does cover climate issues well or at least occasionally but I ‘d have to lie. Through my teeth.
Long after your exhibition had closed, I found a reference to it. Don’t remember where (I read lots of online art/culture magazines) but I do remember looking at the photos and thinking how powerful it was. I know how much effort it took to put that together. Thank you for all that you did and do to communicate about the most important issue of our time.
As for mainstream media that cover climate, The Guardian is best at it (George Monbiot doesn’t pull any punches!) followed by Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic. Occasionally writer Bill McKibben publishes something in The New Yorker but he also has a newsletter here on Substack called The Crucial Years. It is well worth reading. Beyond that, I follow climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, who is also an evangelical Christian, because she is both adept at addressing fellow evangelicals who deny climate issues and calling people to action.
If renewable energy policy is your jam, try Energy News Network. Housed at Fresh Energy in St. Paul, MN, Energy News Network covers climate and energy issues across the country. You can find lots of truly local issues that have big impacts in national policy, along with analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions. Proud to say I help found and find funding for Energy News years ago.
Wish we could use the tagline: “It’s the climate stupid!” Sigh. back to helping get out the vote!
Thanks for pointing out specific media outlets that cover the climate crisis in timely and comprehensive ways. I will add to your list Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker. Besides articles for the magazine, her books about the topic are brilliant, richly reported accounts of what's happening, why, and the bleak future ahead. "Field Notes from a Catastrophe," published in 2006, was my wakeup call. I highly recommend her latest book, "Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future."
It seems the simplest, most reliable way to understand and respond to climate deniers is to ask or find out how they make their money; SO MUCH of American enterprise is wrapped up in things which worsen climate change, from coal-burning and gas burning power-plants and furnaces, to internal-combustion driven vehicles, leisure vehicles (think motor boats, jet-skis, snowmobiles, 4-wheelers,... the list is nearly endless! Those who make a living from them stand to lose a lot, both financially as well as status and respectability if they agree that what they do contributes to worsening climate change. Think about it every time you start your car or turn on your furnace...and changing one's world-view can be VERY expensive!
While it doesn’t cover everything, I find that the Sierra Club’s quarterly magazine has the absolute best coverage on our climate crisis. My small monthly donation to them is repaid 100-fold w the info they provide & more importantly, the initiatives they support.
As we talk about the press’s complicity, We need to remember under “news as entertainment” any talking head with a show is perceived to be a “journalist.” Remember Tuckems said in a lawsuit he was an entertainer? But how many viewers of Fox—or any news really—are able to (or even thinks to) judge who really IS journalist?
Yes! We are drowning in opinion and infotainment masquerading as journalism. 24 Hr News operations and social media churn out fragmented information with little context. This all helps create a reactive populace with incredibly short attention spans. This inability to focus really miltates against critical thinking and historical sense.
What an AMAZING exhibit, Jeff: literally IMMERSIVE! The video you link should be seen by everyone, and at the least by those in our LFAA forum. What a shame you were not flooded by extensive press coverage. Unfortunately, the bottom line (as many have pointed out here today) is money. As it refers to Art (with a capital "A"), when it is subservient to capitalism, it becomes a product of consumerism, and its artistic value is exponentially depreciated. We can't forget that Art is what renders us Human... and HUMANE. Art is an imperative for the survival of Civilization!
Jeff, fabulous exhibit. Keep sharing it this way. You were prescient. Loved the creative " immersion" experience. And amazing how quickly you got it together. Congratulations.
As you mentioned, I never think of Philadelphia and flooding in the same thought as I do here in Florida, but it can happen anywhere. After Ian we are in the middle of the very real thing.... only here the salt water comes crashing and the fresh water is brownish, full of debris and human waste, quickly growing mold and drowning people. The overwhelming power of water stirred!
This is what happened to the Green Movement in California on 1990 too. Much activity, no press. Much sabatoge, much disinformation tying it to the Nazis, etc etc.
Powerful exhibition, even now, as a story to be shared. I will forward to others beyond this comment section. Let's all do the same. Art as change agent.
I wrote this comment below but thought it an appropriate response:
Here’s an example of great media coverage! I refer to CBS News reporter Margaret Brennan’s interview with Florida Sen Rick Scott. She was tenacious and insisted upon getting an answer to her questions regarding his opinion on racist and violent comments from tfg and mtg. Worth the watch!
His father and grandfather - both were Fred Trump. The Father did business with both Hitler and Stalin - selling them fuel suited for Hitler's airplanes. NAZIS
Thank you for sharing that clip. It gives me a real lift in spirit to see a tenacious push back. We all need to be doing that. And expecting that from newscasters and journalists.
Where are citizens confronting Rubio and Admitted Thief Scott? Are Floridians writing letters to the editor? Are they nagging local editors to examine the senators’ positions? Are they picketing their appearances and marching outside their local offices? Lots of people expect the press to take the lead, but it is up to us citizens to do that. When we do, then we can complain about the press (and there is plenty to complain about).
I noticed that and Hair Gaetz also voted against aid. Do people in Florida even notice that their so-called representatives vote against their interests and ultimately for Florida to be livable.
Some of them do as evidenced by posts by people in Florida who read Heather's letter and comment here. Unfortunately, too many do not. When I was growing up in the midwest, Florida was viewed as some kind of paradise in much the same way as Arizona is viewed by people here in the PNW. I have been there once and that was all I needed to see to know that I could never ever live there.
I avoid even hearing about Fla. Sadly for people on the West Coast / Gulf side of Fla. were hit very very hard by Hurricane Ian. At least in the SW area of Florida. When you talk to people in areas OTHER THAN SW or like Ft. Myers - they really don't care. I mean, they care but DON'T really want to be bothered about it. "We're fine" Fla is just plain weird.
I would agree about the denial among many there. Some people in the interior also suffered wind and rain and the east side of Florida is not immune from hurricanes either. As far as I am concerned Florida is an ongoing mess in so many ways.
Sadly, part of the "cynicism" of authoritarian followers assuming everyone is lying is the distrust of "experts," seen most clearly in the responses to hurricane Ian of residents marooned on their islands off Florida and in their houses along the coast who, when told they must evacuate, decided instead to hunker down and wait to see just how bad it would be...and then cried out for help and rescue when Ian proved to be as bad as the "expert" weather forecasters had predicted; "They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house." Mark 8:18
It should come as no surprise to Rubio, Scott, DeSantis, Trump and the like when the climate really changes and become far more harsh and the very flat and low-lying land of Florida goes under water to join the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. How will they deny that?
The press. The way I see it is one - they are influenced by viewership. They will tend to report on issues that attract viewers. Sometimes, but not always, that means they spend too much time on issues that are not as important as other issues that don't make it to the top of the heap. And two - there is so much to choose from! The list of bad sh_t coming from the Republicans is so vast and endless, that they just can't cover it all! Some of us will get disappointed. Climate change is a perfect example. Although it is changing with each increasingly destructive and frequent weather event, climate change and climate denialism just doesn't get viewers jazzed up like other issues do, and it also gets flooded out by other big issues like the Mar-a-lago stuff.
Agreed. I had the same thought. The interviews I saw by MSN were as the rest; the aim is to solace the victim, present the story. But, never CONFRONTING the officialdom in the Desantis Admin. , at the right moment, of steps to take considering there is a fact of climate change. Make them say the words!
You mean "Skeletor" - aka Rick Scott, biggest Medicare fraudster EVER. His two buddies went to prison - he was elected governor of the state TWICE. He is grotesque. And "fondly" known by Democrats as Skeletor. UGH Also, of note, he cheated to win against Dem. Sen. Bill Nelson, a senator for ALL Floridians. A great guy, great office.
"True" journalists would not give Scott a pass. True journalists would call him out and put his feet on the fire. Cowardice has taken precedence over strength and courage. The truly bold among us, the truth seekers, are a token minority.
Donald Trump would be nowhere without the aid of a complicit Republican Party that has been scheming for decades to do exactly what they are doing now.
From the first impeachment case during which evidence established that Trump attempted to rig the election -- it did not matter. Why? The Republican Senators/Judges knew that Trump has tried to rig the election by attempting to get the Ukrainian government to lie but – ‘After all, he (Trump) was giving the Republican Senator judges what they wanted and permitting them to run the country as they wished’. (Letter)
Why kill the golden goose/orange man?
It was back then, when only one Republican Senator/Judge, Romney, voted to impeach – we could figure out where the country was headed.
The leaders of the Republican Party had abandoned the rule of law.
‘After World War II, political philosopher Hannah Arendt explained that lies are central to the rise of authoritarianism. In place of reality, authoritarians lie to create a “fictitious world through consistent lying.” Ordinary people embraced such lies because they believed everyone lied anyhow, and if caught trusting a lie, they would “take refuge in cynicism,” saying they had known all along they were being lied to and admiring their leaders “for their superior tactical cleverness.” But leaders embraced the lies because they reinforced those leaders’ superiority, and gave them power, over those who did believe them.’ (Letter)
In a review of journalist Maggie Haberman’s just released book about Trump called, The Confidence Man, readers will learn how Trump polished his Art of Lying.
‘Trump eventually came to understand that he could use his own raw, outer-borough resentments to feed the public’s latent anger against the politically correct snootiness of the establishment media. When he cried, “Fake news,” they believed him. During the 2016 presidential campaign, I continually interviewed people who loved Trump because “he sounds like us.”
‘…somehow, in a miracle of salesmanship, the way Trump’s supporters saw him became identical with the way he hoped to be seen.’ (NYTimesBookReview)
Trump had captured a large slice of the American people – hook, line, and sinker. The Republicans would not give that up.
At the end of the first impeachment case “one brave man,” Representative Adam Schiff’ recalled, “had validated my belief and that of the Founders, that the people possessed sufficient virtue to be self-governing.” (Letter)
The leaders of the Republican Party had abandoned the rule of law.
I have heard both “he talks like us” and “he gets us” from people I thought were reasonably intelligent people of integrity. I remember a conversation I had with a former coworker after the Access Hollywood tape surfaced; I asked him how he felt about that, having both a wife and a daughter. He said “I don’t like it, but it’s just talk.” I pressed the issue, and asked what he’d do if he was investigating a sexual assault and his suspect replied with something similar; without batting an eye he said “I’d think there was pc (probable cause) behind that”. I then asked why it was “just talk” for someone running for president, but “pc” in an investigation. He really didn’t have an answer.
White men, particularly of a certain age I think, have not been made to understand what women and minorities deal with. In fact, the limitations placed on me as a female were subconscious to ME for so long. When it's something you grow up with and it keeps getting reinforced by everyone around you, what's happening in society and the news, but never challenged, you just accept it. A vote for Trump was a vote against the safety of and respect for your wife, daughters, mother, granddaughters, grandmothers, female friends.
That is why I get so sad when I see the angry, contorted faces of all the females at his rallies or being interviewed..and even women I interact with here where I live. Do they really think their lives as females will be improved? Respected? It’s just beyond me
It's always puzzled me when I see any women at T**** rallies (and the press does cover them entirely too much - I would rather they were completely ignored) - I see them and I wonder "Why are they there holding those signs? Do they not know what he is?"
Ally, I will read The Confidence Man and not just because I'm a Queens (Bronx, Bklyn, Manhattan) gal, but it sounds as though Haberman got him. She also calls TFP a genius (believe it!) Maggie's got NYC in her blood. She interviewed TFP 3X.
I’ve always thought that ridiculous reason to vote for someone. I don’t want someone just like me! I want someone much more knowledgeable, competent, experienced, etc.
His supporters shrug at his behavior because he’s a rich, white man. What if he were a Democrat, thrice married, publicly cheated on all of his wives, and gets caught on tape saying he grabs women by the pu…. How would they respond if he were a Black man? The hypocrisy makes my head spin.
Today, in the NYTimes' newsletter The Morning, here's what Maggie Haberman told David Leonhardt about whether she thinks TFP will run in '24.
'Maggie: I think Trump misses the pomp and legal protections that the presidency afforded him. I also think he wants revenge on Biden, and on the media, and on a whole range of people. And he wants to be able to continue to raise money and get attention, both of which disappear if he doesn’t run. What I’m not clear on is that he really wants to wage another campaign, in part because he’s that much older and in part because he seems less engaged generally. But that will reveal itself in the coming weeks or months.'
It was possible to know the truth, I got it; republicans not only abandoned the rule of law, they abandoned common sense and any pretense of integrity, by looking outside and seeing a storm and declaring clear weather.
Excellent commentary, Fern. The LIES & THE RULE OF LAW seem to be intertwined in a vicious, endless cycle indeed. BTW, I saw an interview with Haberman yesterday morning. She is brilliant, and exemplifies the type of journalism that used to be the standard we expected. Can’t wait to read her book!
Ha!! I think you are so absolutely right. Just from the clips I have heard, she is low key and keeps her voice incredibly even, non- threatening. She seemed to lull him down the road of revealing himself. Somewhere he said he liked her because it was like "talking to a psychiatrist." While I think Mary Trump has a unique understanding of the young Donald, Maggie Haberman may have the best grasp yet of Donald the older man!
"Any news organization with a functioning ethical compass would have understood that Maggie Haberman had a conflict with regard to covering Trump because of her family’s long-standing financial connections and relationship to the Kushner family. The New York Times didn’t see it that way. They saw opportunity. They saw a chance to take the inside lane, and make an access play. With that decision, a new journalistic era began at The New York Times that has broadly affected political coverage over these last years. It has ended with the destruction of the Watergate ethic and the reputation of the American media in the eyes of the American people, who despise them. Survey after survey testifies to the collapse of belief and trust in everyday people when it comes to what is reported to them by the media.
What is Maggie Haberman’s job? Supposedly, a journalist’s job is to report the news without fear or favor.
Ms. Haberman learned that Donald Trump had taken classified information from the White House to Mar-a-Lago in 2021. This was vital and important information that was withheld from the American people for her book and to make money — and with the permission of The New York Times editors. It is shameful conduct. It is scandalous conduct. America’s political reporters are, broadly speaking, the anchors around the ankles of the journalists who are risking their lives all around the world to reveal the truth. They certainly have no type of moral standing, and despite whatever delusions some may have, they hold no priesthood status in our free society."
Thx, Chips: I was reading these comments to see if anyone had posted the link to his substack post. Per Schmidt, Haberman is no different than Barr, & too many others, who are more interested in the sale of their books than reporting in real time, when it might benefit our country & we the people. Maggie had a lot of important information that she just sat on, including knowledge of t’s cache of presidential documents, preferring to fill her & t’s description of her role as his “psychiatrist.”
“This was vital and important information that was withheld from the American people for her book and to make money — and with the permission of The New York Times editors.” I don’t mean to defend her. Yes, but I don’t imagine Haberman was the only one who knew and “withheld” this information. The archivists at NARA knew, but they had their reasons not to report it early on. If the issue of documents tfg absconded with had come out at the same time as the January 6 business, maybe the public awareness of each would have diminished. Or, TFG dominating the news on two fronts vs. Biden doing his job.
FERN MCBRIDE (NYC) - "In a review of journalist Maggie Haberman’s just released book about Trump called, The Confidence Man, readers will learn how Trump polished his Art of Lying."
Ron, Always lending a hand and contributing good ideas. Thank you. I have a tip for you. Open the comment to edit; eliminate the tail of the link until you reach the ? and stop there. We'll then have more space and free of the mumbo-jumbo, not meant for us. Cheers, Ron, and thanks again.
I couldn't test it, Fern, since I'm a digital subscriber. Have you for sure verified with non-subscribers that they can read such gifts without the tail?
Fern, I convinced myself that the "tail" contained the "Gift" code, so left it on. Let's try it without the "Tail" and see. (I can't, personally, check since I have access anyway.)
Mim Eisenberg, Yeah, I am still confused about the "unlocked article code=..." contained in the "tail." Again, I am unable to confirm the tailless version since I have a subscription to the NYT. Can I assume those that say it works without the "tail" do not subscribe?
Mimi, I apologize for not realizing at first why you wanted to know if I was a subscriber You knew that as a subscriber to the NY Times, I could not claim that the gifted link without the tail worked for non-subscribers. I have tested this with non-subscribers in the past, and I know in this case at least one posted that the tailless link worked for them. I hope all is understandable now. Salud!
An argument can be made that reading skills are essential for a democracy to function, whereas visual and auditory skills favor authoritarianism. Reading is a two or three step process where sight translates written language into mental imagery based on the mind and education of the reader, which acts as a filter. Visual graphics, i.e. film or video, bypass the cognitive filter of the cerebral cortex and pass straight through to the amygdala, which governs emotions. Losing the filter means losing the ability to think. The voice of the authoritarian competes with the voice in our head. Trump has perfected the huckster's pitch, sing-song, and familiar. We realize afterwards that Trump has been lying his ass off, but the amygdalain part of us wants to hear Trump's spiel because he's so entertaining. His is the voice and sound of seduction. He succeeds because his voice lives entirely in the present, with no consistency with either the past or the future. It's like a movie where the character's attention is drawn to a newspaper or letter, often for no longer a second or two on the screen. The letter or newspaper page is a prop on which anything can be written. The images fly by like a road sign seen through the window of a car or a train. The sign is seen but not comprehended, and we're asked to accept on faith that it says what the characters tell us it says. Filtering is hard, and thinking is harder. The dissonance makes thinking all but impossible. This is why driving while texting or carrying on a phone conversation is the equivalent of a DUI. Distracted driving is the same as distracted thinking. And the Republican Party's modus operandi is the same as putting us all on a roller coaster while we're trying to figure out what they are pitching, and whether any of it is true.
Arthur, Your cognitive tour stirred my pre-frontal cortex, left brain, amygdala...while unable to map it all out, I applaud your brainy depiction of authoritarianism and Trump. It was so unlike the poor English used to mock him. At the end, I imagined Trump reading your tour description out loud to himself. It's not The Apprentice; that's for sure.
Glad you liked it. I cannot imagine Trump reading anything. He writes as though he is about fifteen or sixteen years of age. Trump's niece, Mary Trump, would say much the same thing, but more colorfully and in greater detail.
Maggie is interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning this week. Available on Paramount+, likely elsewhere. Her calm assessment of Trump’s character is remarkable. Her declaration of him seeming a bit lost and “diminished” since 2020 quite heartening.
Arthur, Where was the Republican party bc Trump? Why have they completely abandoned The Rule of Law? He captured millions -- so their political toilet and the electoral college are one.
I trust the honorable Governor of Florida will be policing the inevitable surge of the folks he hates so much as they are called to the state to replace the walls and roofs of his supporters who will and now do need them? I get not getting oranges, but how does he expect to rebuild the most precious and valuable parts of his State (in a timely fashion) without those people? Good luck Ronnie. Good luck.
I’m a former Floridian. This past Spring I finally sold a home there that I had inherited from my parents. The home was built in the 30s - so it took a lot of work to get it up to code and to keep it maintained while I was the owner. Most of the workers on the larger jobs were from other parts of the world - the majority from Mexico. I have no idea if they were in the country legally or not, but I do know that they worked hard and well. I’ve also wondered who the heck is going to do their jobs if we were to lose them as workers? And then there is the work of rebuilding after a hurricane. Good luck, Ronnie, indeed.
And these workers were instrumental in the cleanup after 9/11; many of them died of the toxic substances they breathed before any sort of compensation was given. (I think the book was The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornell Villavicencio)
While turning to the federal government with his hand out. That so many people can't or won't see the absolute hypocrisy of these guys is perhaps a testament to our educational system or just plain willingness to be bamboozled. What's chilling for me is the depth of hatred and fear that must have been roiling just below the surface in the population, which trumpf and his cronies tapped and unleashed.
As a non lawyer, I am convinced that Florida Governor DeSantis and his minions flagrantly broke laws in their political caper to falsely entice 48 Venezuelan asylum seekers in Texas to be flown to Massachusetts with the promise of “up to eight months of cash assistance.”
It appears that Perla Huerta, a woman with a background in counterintelligence, went from Tampa to Texas with funds to organize this ‘political caper.’ She recruited desperate Venezuelans in grocery stores and elsewhere, providing McDonald meals and, on occasion, motel accommodations.
Under false pretenses four dozen Venezuelans were put on a plane (funded with $615,000 drawn from a Florida budget item authorizing $12 million “to create a program for transporting UNAUTHORIZED MIGRANTS OUT OF FLORIDA.)
Upon arriving at the Marthas Vineyard Airport, these Venezuelans were offloaded and dumped on the tarmac without funds, food, or any assistance. Local individuals and community services rescued these abandoned human beings.
The Marshall Court (1801-1835) interpreted the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to give Congress jurisdiction over numerous aspects of intrastate and interstate commerce as well as activities that had traditionally been regarded not to be commerce.
THE VIRTUAL KIDNAPPING OF 48 VENEZUELAN ASYLUM SEEKERS IN TEXAS AND THEN FLYING THEM TO TWO OTHER STATES BEFORE DUMPING THEM IN MASSACHUSETTS WOULD APPEAR TO BE AN INTERSTATE CRIME.
Moreover, DeSantis’s use of funds designated to transport unauthorized migrants out of Florida to recruit Venezuelans in Texas to be flown to Marthas Vineyard clearly is illegal.
A sheriff in Texas currently is exploring the legality of this operation. Several Venezuelans have filed suit about their being illegally shanghaied.I would hope that the Department of Justice would focus on the ‘interstate’ illegality of this political travesty.
Presidential aspirant DeSantis’s Marthas Vineyard’s ‘political caper’ reminds me of the Hunt/Liddy Nixon White House Plumber’s Unit, whose activities, while despicable and illegal, did not engage in human trafficking.
Good summary of relevant facts Keith. See, the carefully annotated outline of the underlying criminal acts assembled by Norman Eisen & Fred Wertheimer at www.justsecurity.org/83232/was-desantis-shipping-migrants-to-marthas-vineyard-a-crime/ including the overt acts of "Emmanuel " as well as "Perla" with a Link to the Class Action detailing the interstate transport & intentional manipulation of these valid Venezuelan asylum seekers. 10/3/22 UPDATE: "Perla" has been identified by Edgar Sandoval, NYT, as PERLA HUERTA who will renamed in the Class Action Complaint in place of DOE 1. Apparently, Ms Huerta was released from the US Army in August 2022 after deployments in Iraq & Afghanistan. The Amended Plaintiffs' Class Complaint should be devastating for the Government Defendants as well as for Defendant "Vertol".
Bryan Warm thanks for your pro bono legal insights. Apart from Texas law, I hope that the Department of Justice explores criminal charges for interstate human trafficking and kidnapping.
Justice has been slippery in dealing with Trumpists. I hope that DeSantis prosecutors have a silver bullet and a wooden spike.
"Nixon White House Plumber’s Unit, whose activities were equally illegal"
Illegal certainly, but less personally cruel. Certainly if you or I had perpetrated such a fraud, let alone technical kidnapping, I'm sure it would not pass unnoticed by law enforcement. Certainly people are arrested for much less. And that thing about OK to use the interest on a federal payment for dodgy agendas? That's just a loony loophole that absolutely invites abuse.
JL Don Segretti, in a long interview in CA with Carl Bernstein, initially spoke effusively of his ‘playful pranks’ as part of his activities with the Hunt/Liddy Nixon White House Plumbers Unit. Then he gradually realized that this was illegal and that he would go to the slammer.
You are spot on that DeSantis’s Marthas Vineyard ‘political caper’ is far more serious, infringing on the basic rights of human beings including kidnapping and other serious crimes.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and nothing was true… The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Joyce Vance talks tonight at her Substack (you should subscribe!) about whether DeSantis and the people involved in this fakakte could be charged under Federal Kidnapping laws and concludes that a case can be made - assuming a US attorney could be found to take it.
Robert Hubbell (another Substack you should subscribe to) has a good description of the issues that are coming on "The First Monday in October" at the Supreme Court.
Hannah Arendt - the banality of evil - Adam Schiff the use of lies and misinformation and GOP cowardice and complicity in evil - Mitt Romney on his lack of courage in ignoring obstruction - all that’s necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke - a republic if you can keep it - Ben Franklin - let’s roll, the Flight downed over Pennsylvania - Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland - Never Again - the Holocaust - a day that will live in infamy - our last declaration of war - Eddie Adams photograph of the street shooting and the photo of the burning girl in the My Ly massacre - Nobel James Franck - The Franck Report - The Manhattan Project - Putin’s lies about voting in the Donbas - nuclear war - the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - the cause of prejudice is fear and ignorance - racism in America - Jews will not replace us - racism in state governments - the stench in SCOTUS - complicit MSM support of Trump coming down the escalator - the pathological liar in chief -
Do we need more? Will DOJ investigate and indict and convict?
So... not Edmund Burke: At best, the essence of the quote can be traced back to the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, who delivered an 1867 inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews and stated: “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
The R’s are complicit as hell. Their denials are catching up with them. Putin is so similar except...he is in control of nuclear weaponry with the flick of the switch. The R’s are not, thank goodness! Trump is the R’s nightmare not their leader. He cannot stand being ignored so he blabbers untruths and threats. The more threats, the louder he becomes but the DOJ is taking notes and adding things to their already bulging list of charges. Okay, I have seen and heard enough. That SOB should be dragged off to prison. If that cannot be acknowledged, then isolate him from “friends” and family. Squeeze him until he panics and cries uncle.
Republicans have been stitching their monster for decades now, and own it even when in more guarded moments, they fear it. Their quest for absolute power has made a monstrosity of the entire party.
Nailed them, I especially imagine that Mitch has his moments, wondering how he lost to such as that. But it’s hard to be mad when you create your own morass.
Too many of Don’s appointed judges were recruited in law school by Federalist Society. They genuinely believe in their interpretation of the law. They aren’t really ”crooked” but they are delusional by my standards. Pompeo was a big part of their ascendancy. As an evil man, Mike is right there with Dick Cheney.
Mike, I honestly believe that they are not delusional. They are not innocent children. The moment he told the audience that they could "beat the crap out of them" (rally protesters) and he would pay their lawyers (one of his many big lies) it was clear what we AND they were dealing with. The ride to stardom was just too luring to pay respect to the rule of law. The slippery slope turned into an icy mountain slope and they are hanging on to his tailcoat for the ride. Democratic principles have been trashed for the hope of glory, however tarnished or fascist it may be. The whole lot of these particularly lawless opportunists need to be prosecuted and pulled off our payroll!!!
I don’t throw the judges into that category. Certainly the rally crowds fit. I have not met any of the Federalist judges but would like to. They must have some logic in their thinking. I don’t know what it is but would love an explanation.
My "they" was aimed at Republicans leaders as well as a few questionable dems.
However, IMHO, the Federalist Society's concept of "originalism" from my various readings, usually strikes me as an incompletely examined and contested idea, masquerading as a philosophy, used to serve the interests of a narrow group of citizens. But what do I, a retired teacher, know about such things?
I am being snarky, and not all Trump appointees appear crooked, though some have seemed more that willing to fabricate in order to advance ideology. I do not see Judge Cannon as a woman of principle. I don't see "Citizens United" as empirically sound. Tyranny, such a slavery, is always given a pious-sounding cover story which some may believe, but I their heart of hearts, those who adopt it know is indefensible, thus the furor you risk by any making any challenge to it. They sense that exposure to good-faith debate would be devastating.
Certainly is possible for opposing opinions to be sincere and even, at least is part, present valid perspectives, though too many politicized arguments seem a made-up cover story for a foregone conclusion.
You have to love the idea of Don suggesting he be invited to negotiate an end to Vlad’s war. What country, besides Saudi Arabia, would ever turn to that moron for anything?
Vlad was counting on him to win and just hand Ukraine over, still has hopes, in my humble opinion. Just like all the “rich friends,” hangers-on, and republican traitors, and, of course, Rupert Murdoch, they are eager beyond words to have free rein again.
Jeez, Jeri, the odor of trumps “hangers on” as you call them, must be suffocating. Out here, deep in the mountains we call them “cling-ons.” A situation that develops after a cold winter and not changing your long Johns or bathing until may.
“The more threats, the louder he becomes but the DOJ is taking notes and adding things to their already bulging list of charges.” And the more threats by TFG and his followers the more likely violence against those who oppose them is likely. Removing TFG’s megaphone ASAP is critical to prevent another Insurrection attempt. For the safety of this country.
Remove his megaphone, yes...but there is the vast array of the MSM that will continue airing/writing about/following his every move every day. Murdoch and Fox are culpable, for sure.
A win in either house will alter the actions of the committee(s) that are investigating the various crimes committed by T**** and his sycophants in the government. But the DOJ is not beholden to the Congress. And Merrick Garland will continue to lead that lumbering giant as it continues on the path that has been set. "No one is above the law." And for one of the best speeches of this century, I give you https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-administers-oath-allegiance-and-delivers
The transcript is impressive; the clips of him giving that speech I have seen are awe inspiring. I wil continue to have confidence in him and all the people in the DOJ.
These Letters are useful as they shine light on the threats within using other world leaders behavior to illuminate our bedeviled leaders in waiting. The road to an illiberal democracy is built upon their lies and our willingness (cynicism?) to look the otherway while boasting "never here."
The Republicans continue to be complicit because they need the TFG’s MAGA Mob to keep their seats. That is the GOP’s millstone and the threat to our democracy. Does the MAGA Mob know they’re being lied to by their messiah and still run to him? I think they choose to believe whatever he says, and will continue to do so no matter what the verdict of any trial or the result of any election.
Meanness and cruelty has an appeal for too many people who are psychologically attracted to those attributes. They somehow feel safer when they try to crawl under the cloak of cruelty, not reckoning that the cruel ones will turn on a penny to toss them into the cold. Reminds me of the Crosby, Stills and Nash song, "Teach your children well their fathers' hell..."
It seems to me that the preponderance of avoidable human suffering is directly and indirectly traceable to bullying of one sort or another, and yet we continue to seem so conflicted about containing it.
The 1% that bankrolls so much of the deception is really the tail that wags the dog. To what extent has government of, by, and for the people being "tr#mped"? And the welcome mat rolled out for finally set-adrift ex-Democratic ultra-racists by power hungry Republicans was a "deal with the Devil" if I ever saw one. They have been on-course for total despotism ever since.
".. 1% that bankrolls so much.. " Yes JL, there you have pulled back the curtain and reveal 'the wizard (s). There's this that's been said many times paraphrased differently - "... . . . it is easier to bamboozle than to debamboozle." - 1927 journalist Norman Angell
Chump told the tale when he was quoted as saying that the presidency had given him so many new rich friends, secret friends that people don’t know about.
I am just a casual observer with an impression that cults tend to gather around a set of fictions that somehow bonds the members together. Perhaps the content of the fiction is secondary to the fact that only the insiders espouse and/or believe it. I think that's why they can say repeat things too absurd to be satire and never flinch. Some believe because that's what you do. Some know they are lying. Some have an agenda. Some, more than anything, want to belong. Or so it seems to me. That's why glaring counter-evidence does not easily dispel the madness. In a full out tyranny, membership is enforced with the threat of violence. We are seeing some of that already.
Not everyone who is religious or even Christian approaches it as a cult system, but that seems to me to be very common. Nothing recorded about Jesus suggests to me he would have been OK with the Crusades or burning people at the stake, and yet the history of what is called "religion" is strewn with sociopathic behaviors. The salient themes of teaching attributed to Jesus emphasize humility and kindness, yet Trump "Christians" seem to despise the most disadvantaged poor, worship the rich, and and are eager to massacre their enemies. "Christians" such as MLK and supposedly Trump and Putin, are sorted under the same label, but seem polar opposites.
I think cults can form around any mandatory belief system that is hostile to questioning and counter evidence, such as racism, or jingoistic nationalism. It really centers around a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing narcissistic thought; that only we are the righteous, the "real" Americans, the Master Race, etc. The mental malware of circular thinking provides obedient foot soldiers for many a sociopathic tyrant, and kept the curse of tyranny alive and kicking throughout the ages.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
I agree. I would say, however, that one can be compassionate, tolerant, caring, generous etc. without having a deity directing, but do it instead because it's the right thing to do. The difference between those who don't need a deity to tell them how to behave and think, and those who do, is that those who are non believers may have done the work to get there, while believers let others do the heavy lifting. When you are prone to following someone else's philosophy, belief system, you may also be more prone to allowing any other leader to tell you what to believe and perhaps more prone to be swayed to swallow fantasies and lies. George Lakoff writes about the differences between conservatives and liberals, and suggests that conservatives tend to be more afraid of change and difference. People tend to be drawn to religious beliefs that resonate with something in their psychology, so being afraid of change and difference and believing in a particularly rigid or unforgiving religious interpretation, may make them more likely to express their fear and hatred toward others. They may engage much more in projection to protect their view of the world and themselves. All this shouldn't matter, except they get played out in politics and policies that ends up hurting a lot of others.
I don't think the enablers/Congress crowd/big PAC funders, etc. believe anything he says, anymore. He is useful tool...and there's not a single "profile in courage" to be found among them.
DiSantis should send that plane back to Martha's Vineyard to pick up those migrants -- Florida is going to need a LOT of workers to clean up and rebuild after Ian!
"But leaders embraced the lies because they reinforced those leaders’ superiority, and gave them power, over those who did believe them."
Substitute a few words and it sounds so much like "religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." Napoleon Bonaparte
I wish there was some point where I said, Ah, I didn’t know that. But I would guess that all who comment here know well the truth of the lies. It’s too bad that I don’t hear political ads that say loud and clear. Republicans want to kill SS, Medicare, Democrats are not for open borders, republicans want to control women’s bodies tell you and doctor what is acceptable for you ((including birth control), Democrats have lowered the deficit and provided for middle class expansion, etc. instead I hear the same old blather. There are many groups working to address these issues and I applaud and support them. But the narrative from MSM is still pretending that republicans are legitimate actors instead of “crisis actors,” with a script straight out of Hannah Arendt’s world.
I´d point to the election as the legitimacy, actualy. I see you don´t share this point of view. What would be yours? I agree with you about dollars and tribe....I wonder if there´d be any if this is not...
Americans used to have a legitimate expectation that the officials they elected honored an oath of office. Since many Republicans no longer honor that oath, or as voters don’t value that oath, the legitimacy of their service to the country is void
The “election” itself is however “legitimate” in specific terms. There is no requirement that the GOP voting block honor any oath or loyalty to the Constitution, no matter how often they sing the SSB, or regurgitate in rote, The Pledge ( with hand over heart and red maga ballcap on backwards
As an expat American living in Europe, I think there is a clear message in the recent Swedish and Italian elections. Immigration is turning otherwise sensible people to the Right. Immigration reform in America is long overdue and the Biden government needs to face this before 2024.
America is the land of immigrants. Immigrants built modern America, supplying labor in the era of industrialisation. But our system is out of control. We need to address these issues immediately to keep Americans from copying both northern, otherwise progressive Sweden and southern, historically fascist Italians. It is not too late, but it must be done.
Our world is out of control. Immigrants wouldn't be pouring into this country if it wasn't. I often wonder what the white nationalists are really afraid of. There is very little peace on this earth at this time. The promise of America is the hope of the world. How do we change the fear/evil that Magas, Proud Boys and other militias, Republicans, etc. are striving so hard to hang onto? I've been reminded this weekend that we need to do it through love and kindness. It's a little hard to find those two words towards the Republicans and Maga, Trump, let alone Putin. But we need to stand up, write to congress, get out the vote and do so with firmness that there is a better world that can be had. I certainly feel there are many wanting that and am grateful Biden is President at this time trying to bring NATO and the world together and to Zelensky is showing us how. We were never promised a Rose Garden or that it wouldn't require enormous work, hardship on our part...it's time.
The so-called immigration problem, is more about our policies toward our neighbors to the south. If we really want to solve this problem we would make major changes in the drug policies for one. The cartels exist primarily because of our hunger for drugs and our insistence on criminalizing drug use. The violence caused by this often forces people to flee. We also often stand by while American corporations exploit the resources in those countries without consideration for the consequences to the local population. If we made a concerted effort to become "good" neighbors we might be able to make a significant dent in the "immigration problem".
Nowadays, on some issues, all we can hope for for is small progress that shows centrists the hypocrisy and extremism of Republicans. Guns and abortion, for example. The GOP will show the same on immigration.
"I think they know they are being lied to, but hate being wrong and admitting they were lied to."
There is that, plus, I think, if the MAGA Mob acknowledges losing an election, they're acknowledging minority status. That would mean it is no longer "their" country; they have to share it with people they don't like or understand, on an equal basis. They really don't want to swallow that pill.
It was my understanding that TFG ended funding to Mexico that helped Mexico secure their southern border. And the result was more people making it to our southern border states. If that is so, did any funding resume with Biden administration?
Hopeful Beto has a chance to resolve Texas border issues.
Watching video of Ukraine is sickening. Putin is just a KGB thug! Stuck in a Cold War past. I am very hopeful the Ukrainian people can win this war!
Thank you, Heather! Your insight always enlightens!
This is related (even if it seems out of left field): PM Liz Truss, who on the day of her assumption of leadership in the UK, declared her devotion to Reaganomics, has--in less than a week--rolled back her demands about lowering the income tax rate for highest earners in the UK because she caused the pound sterling and the FTSE to plummet and interest rates to shoot up. And why did she walk back what was clearly one of the stupidest plans ever? Because Truss is not just PM. She is a member of Parliament who has to answer to her constituents at every election. Who is legally required to have a regular "clinic" (in US lingo a Town Hall) in which her own constituency has an opportunity to pepper with questions, submit requests for action, etc. Amurrikans think that our lopsided system--congressional districts were capped to 435 in 1929, which is why Wyoming has more representation per capita than CA or NY--is one in which congresspeople have to answer to their constituents. They're wrong, as we know all too well. Because US reps don't have to look people in the eye and explain why they're behaving so badly, we have lost any semblance of representative democracy. And because the cap also has a huge effect on the Electoral College, the presidency is also under the thumb of the same rigged system. There are ways to fix this, but the fat-arses in Washington don't have the political will to do so. And now we have a SCOTUS that is actively seeking to impose a theocracy on the USA, because of the absolute spinelessness of the people who are supposed to be representing us.
Rubio in his last election said he would be a check upon Trump. He ended up being a Trumpanze. Ian decimates Florida due to climate change and both Rubio & Scott are climate change deniers. WHERE IS THE PRESS CONFRONTING THEM AND REMINDING VOTERS OF THEIR LIES? The Press is pretty worthless also. The Press is not as culpable as the GOP, but it is culpable.
I would disagree wrt the press’s culpability. Their greed for clicks and likes has replace their journalistic integrity. They provided the orange monster with billions of dollars in free advertising based on the outrageous statements he made in the 2016 campaign. They literally got him elected
Now they fan the flames of discontent wrt Biden’s valiant efforts to put some stability into our government and economy, instead of reporting on the dangerous hypocrisy of authoritarian GOP lawlessness and supremacy
Trusted news sources fall by the wayside as billionaires buy up media outlets to promote agenda and profit taking
The Watchdogs have been fed a meal that tastes better than the “integrity” that used to satisfy them. Money and Power is their preferred meat
As my DIL might say, “We’re Screwed”. Actually, she doesn’t say “screwed”
The press was never a shining beacon of free thought and journalistic principle. Almost always, it has been characterized by partisanship (often much worse than today) and pandering to whatever would increase sales. Go back and watch The Front Page (one of the best movies ever made) to get an idea of what it was like, and in many ways is again.
Agree, Jon. The term “yellow journalism” was coined in the 1890s. So while there have been bright spots in our national reporting, the opposite is closer to our historical norm. The Fairness Doctrine was conceived by the FCC in 1947 & not backed by Congress until 1954, lasting only until 1987. That’s a short period of time for the existence in the US of journalistic integrity.
I've never understood why another Fairness Doctrine hasn't been proposed and passed. The Dems have been in power often enough to enact one that addresses changes in technology and society. The Republican influence in my lifetime seems always to have been at odds with the good of the people. If we can't make the press more accountable, it seems it will be impossible to get our country on track. Even PBS NewsHour seems to have lost its mission to an extent. I have the feeling that the individual journalists and reporters' hearts are in the right place but that they aren't allowed to keep an interviewee honest. They can't follow through when John Thune (R, S. Dakota) tells his lies by saying "That has been disproven," or "That's a lie," which happens almost every time he is a guest, and he seems to be the designated liar of the Republican party to explain the latest mischief the R's are engaged in. Judy Woodruff seems to be hamstrung at that point, every time he's on, going on to the next question without holding him accountable. Don't the Republicans have enough mouthpieces of their own without being allowed to further spread their lies through PBS? NPR's Steve Inskeep has actually managed his guests when they lie. According to Wikipedia: "In January 2022, Inskeep interviewed former U.S. President Donald Trump on many issues including COVID-19 vaccinations, the 2020 presidential election and the future of the Republican Party, specifically in the 2022 midterm elections. When Inskeep pressured Trump with questions related to the attempts to overturn the election results and the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Trump suddenly hung up the phone interview.[9]" Now that's journalism. Will Judy Woodruff--who I have a high regard for--be replaced with someone who might be more forceful, or someone who kowtows to management which is buckling down to donors, I wonder?
That is even clear in the Republican newspaper in Brazil, Indiana. I am not a happy candidate! I pay for my advertising!
The press. Do you mean Murdoch?
Jennifer Rubin has an article in today's WaPo regarding the media and what can be done to remediate their part in the horror show that belongs on the GOP stage.
Wacko weather is showing up all over the world with increasing frequency. Too many record aberrations to dismiss as normal variation. You might as well deny the existence of the moon. Assembled numbers are pointing the same direction. https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/300/video-climate-spiral/ Does the press not love its children too?
Climate scientists term our current Human-assissted Weather phenomena "Global Climate Chaos", not the Press' "Global Warming". Word choice matters here just as with #tfg who is a Thief, not just a faulty packer (and, yes, staffers say he was actively involved in packing out - finally)..
Words do matter. My wife and I cringe everytime we hear a well meaning news reporter make statements describing actual conditions or disputing misleading or false statements using the same words in the misinformers use. This results in some confusion, some reinforcement of the misinformation and no clear rebuttal with clear indisputable language and facts. All news personnel should be required to attend classes in vocabulary, language, sentence structure and formation of clear thoughts.
I taught expository writing for many years. I have had students thank me years later including the one who won a case at the Nevada Supreme Court. Words do matter as i have said many times to those who want to misuse them. I often correct the grammar of reporters and others on TV as I watch.
I would have loved to take your course(s). I have been freelance writing for years. I have been "accused" of being 'too brutally honest', resulting in seldom being published. Long ago I learned how the mere placement or sequence of words determines the context and the outcome.
Thank you. I really enjoyed teaching that course. I was mainly the librarian, but also taught as well. Too brutally honest likely means that you told the unvarnished truth. I am reading now a book called the Legacy of Violence about the British Empire. And it is hard to read because it is brutal unvarnished truth. The government and the colonial administrators tried to hide a lot of this, so the research for the author was sometimes difficult. Keep up your good work.
I wish I had been in your class. I find that the gap between my viewpoint and that of someone immersed in the world of Fox News or Zerohedge is exasperated by the words and if I can use expository explanations rather than emotional responses, I can sometimes break through the smoke screen.
Thank you. It wasn't for everyone, so very small or even one on one. It is pretty amazing and so difficult to explain to such a person. Kudos for breaking through sometimes. I have had no success really. Usually I have to block the person. For these people dealing with an educated person is a threat to them and being elitist.
You CAN be in her class (or feel as though you are) since every Thursday, Heather does an hour of American history. It’s live on her Facebook page, but there are several years’ worth available on her YouTube channel (the YouTube posting is usually approx a month behind the Facebook livestream [though all the lectures are on FB, as well]; you’ll definitely get an education!)
It is amazing how many errors the media makes. I think it is partly that they are too rushed, and partly that both modern media and the public are less schooled in reading and writing. There is a lawyer on Twitter, @nyttypos, who copy-edits the New York Times as a hobby.
Chasing ratings and "getting there first" have been a huge disservice to the media world. Failure to properly source an event or to correct a report made in error appears not to be high on the list of "to-do's" in the media. Front-page errors often find their corrections buried in later pages in later issues.
Plus they need to be taught that "fair and balanced"does not require denying Reality - or even hinting at ...
Reagan did away with "fair and balanced" in the eighties. Say "welcome" to Rupert Murdoch.
St Ray Gun has always been a terrible president to me. He did so much damage and we are now dealing with the problems he helped create, some of which has been allowed to become nearly insurmountable, but are good political fodder for Rs.
The local news channel we watch has finally decided that they can talk about climate chaos although they use climate change. Here in the Willamette Valley in Oregon where it used to start raining at the end of August, we are have had exactly a couple days of puny rain since it stopped raining during the summer. And no rain in sight and it is already October. We are still watering....bone dry.
At least a decade ago, USDA in consultation with NOAA predicted the Ohio River Valley would become the "New" Napa-Sonoma by 2040. It seems to be happening sooner rather than later temperature-wise.
Here in Alaska we have had rain nearly every day since the beginning of July. One of my joys in life is berrypicking......wild berries. The cranberries have not had a chance to develop and the blueberries are sour. First time ever.
He/she who controls the narrative controls the outcome.
I like the phrase climate chaos. Ds have never learned the words do matter and now a lot of the local R ads talk about "defunding the police". If ever there was a stupid slogan, that is it.
For sure Michele, for sure. I was downright mortified when I first heard that!
I agree that it's possible the worst slogan ever and is counter-productive to what needs to happen. However, I believe "Defund the Police" originated our of the Black Lives Matter protests & marches. And like you and others I don't like how the DNC (not all Democrats) articulates issues; that's why I'm an independent. But Democrats aren't to blame for the phrase. Also, it means different things to different groups. The following link goes into the variations on what the phrase is understand to express.
"Last June, video of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd, a Black man, went viral on social media. Uprisings took hold across hundreds of U.S. cities, and activist calls to “defund the police” went mainstream." https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/defund-the-police/
I understand why this came to be and I wish it had been about reforming the police, adding crisis teams, etc. The problem is that the phrase is now being used in ads against Ds. I don't know about elsewhere, but here in Oregon, Salinas and McLeod-Skinner are being targeted. Salinas is the daughter of a police officer and voted for money for the state police. McLeod-Skinner was at the protests in Portland. She was correct in her view of the feds death star sent. Btw, a black protester here in Salem was just awarded a million dollars for what she suffered from the police during the George Floyd protests. Several cases coming up in Portland or at trial now with no judgements yet.
Climate crisis is a symptom. Global warming is the cause. This has been clear to nearly 100% of legitimate clinate scientists since James Hansen’s analysis and modeling based on historical data proved the case in the 1980s. People who deny that, regardless of their choice of words, either have not looked into it or do not know how to estimate the reliability of information. The term “global warming” accurately states the fundamental problem. Terms like “climate crisis” describe the changes caused by the fundamental problem.
Yes! Language! Language! Language! RADICAL, not Conservative too, PLEASE.
Sadly, part of the "cynicism" of authoritarian followers assuming everyone is lying is the distrust of "experts," seen most clearly in the responses to hurricane Ian of residents marooned on their islands off Florida and in their houses along the coast who, when told they must evacuate, decided instead to hunker down and wait to see just how bad it would be...and then cried out for help and rescue when Ian proved to be as bad as the "expert" weather forecasters had predicted; "They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house." Mark 8:18
I am reminded of when Sarah Palin railed against the educated and the intellectuals. Josef Stalin executed one million of his intellectuals. Fear of fact and knowledge leads to massive destruction of human life and thought.
The blame for the lack of evacuation orders falls squarely on DeSantis, though he will slither out of it. While I left Florida nearly 23 years ago, I know firsthand that hurricanes changing course in ways that defy prediction. A slight shift in direction, especially along the coast, can spell the difference between a stormy day and widespread destruction and death. Ian is a classic example.
As another escapee from Florida, I share your knowledge and opinion.
Same here.
Growing up at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay with parents who would set up nautical charts on the dining room table to track hurricanes that appeared to be heading up the Atlantic coast, I learned to think of hurricanes as being much like footballs, you never know which direction it may bounce when it hits the ground. We had a 30' sloop in a slip at the yacht club and my father wanted to be clear on what additional lines to add and how much slack he could afford to allow the boat to rise safely in higher water without bouncing off the pier or pilings. One year (1954, Hurricane Hazel, Cat 4), he borrowed a 50 lb. mushroom anchor and moored her out in the river and away from the pier. Worked effectively except for the thumbnail he lost when the anchor rolled on the deck as he prepared to set it.
I remember Hazel. Glad we lived furthe inlamd than the worst weather.
Love this quote.
I am reminded of another, from Saint Matthew: "Evil lives in the hearts of men."
Lifted by The Shadow: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men; The Shadow knows ...."
Wow! You ARE taking me back! When I was a wee lad in the early 1950s, we listened to "The Shadow" on the radio. 1950-1952. Growing up where the family grouped around the radio to listen to programs such as "The Shadow", "Dragnet", "Boston Blackie" and other shows including Glenn Miller and big band was a great period to grow up. The mind was called to imagine (visualize) the events taking place. As a footnote, years ago while living in Boston a neighbor's dog was named Shadow. Of course, that young couple had heard enough "Shadow" commentaries!
Some of the press is splendid! As I explain to those who think I am in a bubble: I get good sources on MSNBC (frequently more intelligent than CNN, plus a source of as much Fox as one can bear), read WAPO and The NY Times, and occasionally whatever pops up (the Barents Observer). As a trained researcher, I can sort sources. But seeing clearly now how little history Americans know, how very insular we are, I am extremely worried, along with every American who is watching where we are being taken by the Big Lie and Putin, that we may never recover.
I agree that there is splendid journalism going on, and it is there if you look for it, but that journalism that matters seems less in the public spotlight than it once was. It seems to me that the role of the press changed with Reagan, out of whose hand they seemed to feed with "The Great Communicator" and plenty of ongoing deference that they had not shown to Nixon or Carter. I stopped watching commercial TV news in the run-up to the Bush II Iraq War, where the mainstream sources I followed were practically waving pompoms for conflict to begin, even as the Casus Belli was absurdly thin from the getgo; and which sources such as the Guardian, which I began reading, showed as fraudulent even before the bombing began. US reporting seemed complicit in a way it had not been in the Vietnam conflict. Similarly, the investigative reporting of Watergate somehow seemed to me more aggressive than for the much greater scandals of the Trump Era. Since "Jan 6th" this seems to have improved, but still somewhat timid given the gravity of events, or at least from I personally notice.
This is the "heart" that wouldn't work for me. I agree with you!
You cite a few sources. More a dribble than a firehose. Local papers are useless.
More and more local papers are owned by monopolies and are mostly propaganda sheets.
Most people cannot sort sources and now with the internet everyone is an expert on everything. I do agree that some of the press is splendid. I do like Lester Holt and we do watch the NBC news.
Then we share many of the same people - informed and making their way as best they can through the avalanche of daily news. And we have HRC as teacher, organizer, and checker!
Does factual truth matter…
While the weather is increasingly "wacko," the evidence that climate change could be an existential threat has been mounting for many years. Consistently, the most dire scientific models have proven to be shockingly accurate ones.
The horror of what's going to happen globally is beyond the imagination of most people, or their willingness to accept. As I've said before in this forum, our descendants will loathe us for what we have wrought and lacked the will to combat.
Last week on a program on either CNN or MSNBC, Chef Andres (World Central Kitchen) went off on quite an excellent and detailed rant summarizing exactly the wide-ranging interconnected threats that are rapidly bearing down on all of us, world-wide.
Does the party of death love its children? I guess not. They are too busy indoctrinating them to be against every one who is not like themselves. Instead of focusing on real problems, they are in a hissy fit because a fat black woman (who is also a classically trained flutist) played Madison's flute among other nonsense.
Just read an excellent article about Florida in Popular Information that delineates what DeSatan was doing in the last year when he should have been focused on climate chaos including making it extremely difficult for local areas to do anything themselves. The article ended by quoting him: "We are not doing any left-wing stuff." You know, like trying to mitigate climate chaos in your state....in addition to focusing on all sorts of cultural nonsense and those pesky asylum seekers.
what? was there some backlash against Lizzo?! I got look that up. wow.
Oh yes, right wingers having a hissy fit about a flute they had never heard of (and I hadn't either) before an overweight black woman played it. Suddenly it is as sacred as the national anthem.
I looked it up and I'm appalled any of them had anything to say. yuck.
Problem is that wacko weather is God-created, not human-assisted. At least, that's what I've heard people say. ("Many people are saying. . ." ;) )
WHUT??? Fossil-fueled. Read NOAA and what they say about all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere helping to FUEL Hurricane Ian.
My sarcasm apparently didn't penetrate my written words. Many climate deniers (I know a few) believe that God and only God is responsible for anything going on in our atmosphere. We are living in a religious theocracy. It's scary.
I did get the sarcasm but there's a useful clue to use at the end of something like that.... /s
Thanks for the tip!
The press is not only “as culpable as the GOP” but as complicit with their lie-propelled drive towards an authoritarian form of government. Heather reminded us of how Trump’s 2016 campaign cross-haired Hillary’s private email server to vilify her in the eyes of the electorate. I vividly recall how the press and tv news programs gave ample coverage to his accusations while minimizing the monstrosity of HIS abnormal behaviors, closet skeletons and mafia-like economic “successes.” Not that I was a fan of Hillary (the Democratic Party should have ushered a stronger candidate), but had the news media equally highlighted all of Trump’s vices as they did Hillary’s emails, today he wouldn’t be tfg — and we wouldn’t be having this surreal conversation about the impending global-decimating catastrophe that hardly anyone is doing anything to stop!
The press is owned by billionaires, and run by millionaires. They make their money with clicks, and good news doesn't get clicks. Why would they want a peaceful, healthy, functioning world?
Fully agree! This explains the cynicism of the well informed... and the increased (bliss?) ignorance of so many others more.
I have NO idea what you were watching. BUT it certainly wasn’t what I was watching. I heard the TRUTH from Rachel Maddow and Ari Melber and Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC. You must have been watching Faux News by Rupert Murdoch.
Meanwhile, MSNBC's Morning Joe gave Trump hundreds of hours of free press and bottomless accolades without ever addressing what a nightmare we were entering into. Don't give MSNBC a free pass.
Yes. Joe is a Republican at heart, I believe. Even this morning, the coverage about the Dems chances in the mid-terms was negative. So much so that even I could see the bias. I've learned to take him with the salt lick (when a grain won't do).
Lots of crazy people on this thread. PU-LEASE
The letter is remarkably free of trolls. Please do not describe anyone with whom you happen to disagree as crazy or insane. People can emphatically disagree without using either of those words.
I didn’t have cable news back then. I did watch PBS Newshour daily (and still do), but the morning network (all three non-Fox) news programs were not equitable to both candidates. BTW, I never watch anything on Fox (not a single program).
I used to cringe whenever Andrea Mitchell came on as she was clearly against Hilary. I did wonder if Hilary had personally insulted her somehow.
It WAS ridiculous! When tfg started censoring some of the press at his briefings, I wondered if they ever wished they had been more fair to Hillary. She wouldn’t have ever banned journalists from her press briefings!
At some point, that would have had to be admission of culpability, and that wasn’t going to happen.
To be fair, a lot of us were against Hillary, for a long list of understandable reasons. For me, it was because she and Bill ushered in the era of neoliberalism which all but destroyed the party of FDR.
I agree, but to me it was choice between someone who was competent and does understand what service in government means and someone who should never have power. I have had many arguments with people who even after death star was occupying the WH, would not admit that maybe HRC was the better choice. Now we have a Supreme Court that is in the process of undoing years of hard progress and our democracy is on the brink of being an autocratic theocratic nightmare. This would not have happened with HRC and she would not have tried to destroy our foreign commitments and would have approached COVID much differently. So while HRC was not my first choice and I did not vote for her in the primary, I had no problem of voting for her in the general.
Well said, Michele. thanks!
Well, Holly, you WERE wrong about the Clintons ushering in the era of neoliberalism. And YES, it did destroy not just the Democrats but the entire United States. And many other countries around the world. Like, try Pinochet and Chile. And it came out of the University of Chicago: Neoliberalism began accelerating in importance with the establishment of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947, whose founding members included Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, Karl Popper, George Stigler and Ludwig von Mises. AND especially with Reaganomics. MILTON FRIEDMAN - LOOK HIM UP! 1947 is when neoliberalism was floated in, taking over the Keynesian theory of economics under which we were DOING FINE. But the main President & wife who debuted neoliberalism was REAGAN. Heard of Reaganomics? We're still living under that
You are surprised that Mrs. Alan Greenspan was pro-Trump?
I don't anything about Mitchell's personal life if she is the person to whom you are referring.
Are you INSANE?? Quite the opposite for Andrea Michell. She HATED Trump!
No, and I resent your remark about my being insane and all caps to boot. I was surprised actually, but it seemed to me she was dissing HRC, not praising her. That was my take at the time and it did bother me. I am sure she does hate death star and I am back to enjoying her reports.
You are insane. And I don't think you read enough. Or maybe at all.
Really. I read voraciously and live in a house full of books which are largely nonfiction. We both read all the time. I am well educated, well read, fairly intelligent and I don't appreciate silly inane insults like you have just delivered. I can't imagine what exactly you are trying to achieve here except being incredibly boorish. I do understand the difference between Keynes and Milton Friedman for example. I recently read an excellent book on Keynes, the left half was about his economics and the views of many other economists. I am reading now about neoliberalism in Britain with regard to the British Empire. Save your rancor for the far right radicals who are trying to destroy the country and belong to the party of death. Get over yourself.
The press is complicit in a different way: self-censorship. Every writer, editor, publisher, no matter what their political opinion, knows that the second they reveal the subject of climate change in their piece, they will lose about half their audience. So they try to shy away from an open discussion.
Just before the last election, I mounted an art exhibition on the subject of flooding due to the climate breakdown. We had 12 artists' work displayed in a huge white room flooded with a foot of water. Visitors picked their size of knee-high rubber boots, and entered wading through the show.
We had a good press list of 137 contacts, from art magazines, to local tv news, to community newsletters. How many covered our exhibition? Zero.
Two critics wrote about it after it closed.
https://fematrocities.com/
Jeff, I read about your art installation several months ago. I believe your concept was a wonderful way to have an interactive art exhibit. Please keep up the good work. There are people out there that need the message brought to them repeatedly in creative ways. Your continued work will be much appreciated.
Jeff, I very much wish that what you are saying wasn’t true; that the press does cover climate issues well or at least occasionally but I ‘d have to lie. Through my teeth.
Long after your exhibition had closed, I found a reference to it. Don’t remember where (I read lots of online art/culture magazines) but I do remember looking at the photos and thinking how powerful it was. I know how much effort it took to put that together. Thank you for all that you did and do to communicate about the most important issue of our time.
As for mainstream media that cover climate, The Guardian is best at it (George Monbiot doesn’t pull any punches!) followed by Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic. Occasionally writer Bill McKibben publishes something in The New Yorker but he also has a newsletter here on Substack called The Crucial Years. It is well worth reading. Beyond that, I follow climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, who is also an evangelical Christian, because she is both adept at addressing fellow evangelicals who deny climate issues and calling people to action.
If renewable energy policy is your jam, try Energy News Network. Housed at Fresh Energy in St. Paul, MN, Energy News Network covers climate and energy issues across the country. You can find lots of truly local issues that have big impacts in national policy, along with analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate provisions. Proud to say I help found and find funding for Energy News years ago.
Wish we could use the tagline: “It’s the climate stupid!” Sigh. back to helping get out the vote!
Thanks for pointing out specific media outlets that cover the climate crisis in timely and comprehensive ways. I will add to your list Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker. Besides articles for the magazine, her books about the topic are brilliant, richly reported accounts of what's happening, why, and the bleak future ahead. "Field Notes from a Catastrophe," published in 2006, was my wakeup call. I highly recommend her latest book, "Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future."
https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/elizabeth-kolbert
Thank you for all this info Sheila B MN!
It seems the simplest, most reliable way to understand and respond to climate deniers is to ask or find out how they make their money; SO MUCH of American enterprise is wrapped up in things which worsen climate change, from coal-burning and gas burning power-plants and furnaces, to internal-combustion driven vehicles, leisure vehicles (think motor boats, jet-skis, snowmobiles, 4-wheelers,... the list is nearly endless! Those who make a living from them stand to lose a lot, both financially as well as status and respectability if they agree that what they do contributes to worsening climate change. Think about it every time you start your car or turn on your furnace...and changing one's world-view can be VERY expensive!
We invited Bill McKibben to be on a panel discussion, or get involved in other ways, and he never responded.
I've just posted your website link on my FB page. Maybe the exhibit will receive some much belated recognition.
While it doesn’t cover everything, I find that the Sierra Club’s quarterly magazine has the absolute best coverage on our climate crisis. My small monthly donation to them is repaid 100-fold w the info they provide & more importantly, the initiatives they support.
Use it! The tagline is humorous enough to attract more supporters. Bumper sticker on electric vehicles? T-shirts, for sure.
As we talk about the press’s complicity, We need to remember under “news as entertainment” any talking head with a show is perceived to be a “journalist.” Remember Tuckems said in a lawsuit he was an entertainer? But how many viewers of Fox—or any news really—are able to (or even thinks to) judge who really IS journalist?
Yes! We are drowning in opinion and infotainment masquerading as journalism. 24 Hr News operations and social media churn out fragmented information with little context. This all helps create a reactive populace with incredibly short attention spans. This inability to focus really miltates against critical thinking and historical sense.
What an AMAZING exhibit, Jeff: literally IMMERSIVE! The video you link should be seen by everyone, and at the least by those in our LFAA forum. What a shame you were not flooded by extensive press coverage. Unfortunately, the bottom line (as many have pointed out here today) is money. As it refers to Art (with a capital "A"), when it is subservient to capitalism, it becomes a product of consumerism, and its artistic value is exponentially depreciated. We can't forget that Art is what renders us Human... and HUMANE. Art is an imperative for the survival of Civilization!
Jeff, fabulous exhibit. Keep sharing it this way. You were prescient. Loved the creative " immersion" experience. And amazing how quickly you got it together. Congratulations.
As you mentioned, I never think of Philadelphia and flooding in the same thought as I do here in Florida, but it can happen anywhere. After Ian we are in the middle of the very real thing.... only here the salt water comes crashing and the fresh water is brownish, full of debris and human waste, quickly growing mold and drowning people. The overwhelming power of water stirred!
Thank you for your labor of love and warning.
Wow!
...sorry to hear those details of your ordeal.
This is what happened to the Green Movement in California on 1990 too. Much activity, no press. Much sabatoge, much disinformation tying it to the Nazis, etc etc.
Powerful exhibition, even now, as a story to be shared. I will forward to others beyond this comment section. Let's all do the same. Art as change agent.
Agreed!
At least it was a really good article about your oh-so-important exhibition.
Incredibly moving and terrifying installation. Thanks so much for this work!
WOW!!!
How creative!
I wrote this comment below but thought it an appropriate response:
Here’s an example of great media coverage! I refer to CBS News reporter Margaret Brennan’s interview with Florida Sen Rick Scott. She was tenacious and insisted upon getting an answer to her questions regarding his opinion on racist and violent comments from tfg and mtg. Worth the watch!
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/rick-scott-face-the-nation-transcript-2022-10-02/#app
All of the lies (+ the calls to violence) ... and then we are repeatedly told "We need to bring people together."
We're all being gaslit.
Q: Who taught them how to do this so effectively?!
“Melanie” and her jacket.
His father and grandfather - both were Fred Trump. The Father did business with both Hitler and Stalin - selling them fuel suited for Hitler's airplanes. NAZIS
Thank you for sharing that clip. It gives me a real lift in spirit to see a tenacious push back. We all need to be doing that. And expecting that from newscasters and journalists.
Where are citizens confronting Rubio and Admitted Thief Scott? Are Floridians writing letters to the editor? Are they nagging local editors to examine the senators’ positions? Are they picketing their appearances and marching outside their local offices? Lots of people expect the press to take the lead, but it is up to us citizens to do that. When we do, then we can complain about the press (and there is plenty to complain about).
Jelly fish have more spine than Rubio.
I noticed that and Hair Gaetz also voted against aid. Do people in Florida even notice that their so-called representatives vote against their interests and ultimately for Florida to be livable.
NO, Floridians do NOT notice. They don't want to know. I grew up there - and left as soon as I could get out!!! And kept going!
Some of them do as evidenced by posts by people in Florida who read Heather's letter and comment here. Unfortunately, too many do not. When I was growing up in the midwest, Florida was viewed as some kind of paradise in much the same way as Arizona is viewed by people here in the PNW. I have been there once and that was all I needed to see to know that I could never ever live there.
I avoid even hearing about Fla. Sadly for people on the West Coast / Gulf side of Fla. were hit very very hard by Hurricane Ian. At least in the SW area of Florida. When you talk to people in areas OTHER THAN SW or like Ft. Myers - they really don't care. I mean, they care but DON'T really want to be bothered about it. "We're fine" Fla is just plain weird.
I would agree about the denial among many there. Some people in the interior also suffered wind and rain and the east side of Florida is not immune from hurricanes either. As far as I am concerned Florida is an ongoing mess in so many ways.
And as “religious” as all those gop are, it has me visualizing Matthew 4:9
“And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me!”
And the gop - unlike that guy from Nazareth- said “SURE !!! And what else can I do for you ?!?!”
I saw this comment on Yahoo about a week ago and am using it as much as I can to help it become widespread:
CINO
Christian In Name Only
Sadly, part of the "cynicism" of authoritarian followers assuming everyone is lying is the distrust of "experts," seen most clearly in the responses to hurricane Ian of residents marooned on their islands off Florida and in their houses along the coast who, when told they must evacuate, decided instead to hunker down and wait to see just how bad it would be...and then cried out for help and rescue when Ian proved to be as bad as the "expert" weather forecasters had predicted; "They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house." Mark 8:18
Do you read Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald?
It should come as no surprise to Rubio, Scott, DeSantis, Trump and the like when the climate really changes and become far more harsh and the very flat and low-lying land of Florida goes under water to join the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. How will they deny that?
They’ll blame it on Biden
If that doesn't work, try Obama or Hillary. Anything for a deception and diversion.
Sadly, they likely no longer will be alive to reckon with their tyranny. They see climate change as a hoax.
The press. The way I see it is one - they are influenced by viewership. They will tend to report on issues that attract viewers. Sometimes, but not always, that means they spend too much time on issues that are not as important as other issues that don't make it to the top of the heap. And two - there is so much to choose from! The list of bad sh_t coming from the Republicans is so vast and endless, that they just can't cover it all! Some of us will get disappointed. Climate change is a perfect example. Although it is changing with each increasingly destructive and frequent weather event, climate change and climate denialism just doesn't get viewers jazzed up like other issues do, and it also gets flooded out by other big issues like the Mar-a-lago stuff.
Agreed. I had the same thought. The interviews I saw by MSN were as the rest; the aim is to solace the victim, present the story. But, never CONFRONTING the officialdom in the Desantis Admin. , at the right moment, of steps to take considering there is a fact of climate change. Make them say the words!
Monkey see, monkey do.
You mean "Skeletor" - aka Rick Scott, biggest Medicare fraudster EVER. His two buddies went to prison - he was elected governor of the state TWICE. He is grotesque. And "fondly" known by Democrats as Skeletor. UGH Also, of note, he cheated to win against Dem. Sen. Bill Nelson, a senator for ALL Floridians. A great guy, great office.
"True" journalists would not give Scott a pass. True journalists would call him out and put his feet on the fire. Cowardice has taken precedence over strength and courage. The truly bold among us, the truth seekers, are a token minority.
Donald Trump would be nowhere without the aid of a complicit Republican Party that has been scheming for decades to do exactly what they are doing now.
LIES & THE RULE OF LAW
From the first impeachment case during which evidence established that Trump attempted to rig the election -- it did not matter. Why? The Republican Senators/Judges knew that Trump has tried to rig the election by attempting to get the Ukrainian government to lie but – ‘After all, he (Trump) was giving the Republican Senator judges what they wanted and permitting them to run the country as they wished’. (Letter)
Why kill the golden goose/orange man?
It was back then, when only one Republican Senator/Judge, Romney, voted to impeach – we could figure out where the country was headed.
The leaders of the Republican Party had abandoned the rule of law.
‘After World War II, political philosopher Hannah Arendt explained that lies are central to the rise of authoritarianism. In place of reality, authoritarians lie to create a “fictitious world through consistent lying.” Ordinary people embraced such lies because they believed everyone lied anyhow, and if caught trusting a lie, they would “take refuge in cynicism,” saying they had known all along they were being lied to and admiring their leaders “for their superior tactical cleverness.” But leaders embraced the lies because they reinforced those leaders’ superiority, and gave them power, over those who did believe them.’ (Letter)
In a review of journalist Maggie Haberman’s just released book about Trump called, The Confidence Man, readers will learn how Trump polished his Art of Lying.
‘Trump eventually came to understand that he could use his own raw, outer-borough resentments to feed the public’s latent anger against the politically correct snootiness of the establishment media. When he cried, “Fake news,” they believed him. During the 2016 presidential campaign, I continually interviewed people who loved Trump because “he sounds like us.”
‘…somehow, in a miracle of salesmanship, the way Trump’s supporters saw him became identical with the way he hoped to be seen.’ (NYTimesBookReview)
Trump had captured a large slice of the American people – hook, line, and sinker. The Republicans would not give that up.
At the end of the first impeachment case “one brave man,” Representative Adam Schiff’ recalled, “had validated my belief and that of the Founders, that the people possessed sufficient virtue to be self-governing.” (Letter)
The leaders of the Republican Party had abandoned the rule of law.
LIES & THE RULE OF LAW
I have heard both “he talks like us” and “he gets us” from people I thought were reasonably intelligent people of integrity. I remember a conversation I had with a former coworker after the Access Hollywood tape surfaced; I asked him how he felt about that, having both a wife and a daughter. He said “I don’t like it, but it’s just talk.” I pressed the issue, and asked what he’d do if he was investigating a sexual assault and his suspect replied with something similar; without batting an eye he said “I’d think there was pc (probable cause) behind that”. I then asked why it was “just talk” for someone running for president, but “pc” in an investigation. He really didn’t have an answer.
Asking good questions is the ultimate Mic Drop. I’m betting your co-worker avoided you from then on
Pretty much.
White men, particularly of a certain age I think, have not been made to understand what women and minorities deal with. In fact, the limitations placed on me as a female were subconscious to ME for so long. When it's something you grow up with and it keeps getting reinforced by everyone around you, what's happening in society and the news, but never challenged, you just accept it. A vote for Trump was a vote against the safety of and respect for your wife, daughters, mother, granddaughters, grandmothers, female friends.
That is why I get so sad when I see the angry, contorted faces of all the females at his rallies or being interviewed..and even women I interact with here where I live. Do they really think their lives as females will be improved? Respected? It’s just beyond me
It's always puzzled me when I see any women at T**** rallies (and the press does cover them entirely too much - I would rather they were completely ignored) - I see them and I wonder "Why are they there holding those signs? Do they not know what he is?"
It's a pretty bizarre phenomenon. I don't understand it either but all I can think is that people are very complex.
“Celebrity” causes brain fog
Ally, I will read The Confidence Man and not just because I'm a Queens (Bronx, Bklyn, Manhattan) gal, but it sounds as though Haberman got him. She also calls TFP a genius (believe it!) Maggie's got NYC in her blood. She interviewed TFP 3X.
It sounds like Haberman is tactitly painting New Yorkers with a brush that says “we admire a guy who can sell us ice in the Arctic”
Wrong this time, Dave. TFP did badly with NYC voters. Many of us knew who he was decades ago.
I didn’t mean to denigrate New York voters, but rather pointed the comment toward Haberman and her take on how TFP gained support
I’ve always thought that ridiculous reason to vote for someone. I don’t want someone just like me! I want someone much more knowledgeable, competent, experienced, etc.
Consider this my "heart" since it doesn't appear to be working today!
❤️🍎🍏🍎🌿
His supporters shrug at his behavior because he’s a rich, white man. What if he were a Democrat, thrice married, publicly cheated on all of his wives, and gets caught on tape saying he grabs women by the pu…. How would they respond if he were a Black man? The hypocrisy makes my head spin.
Or, God forbid, wear a tan suit.
That good old double standard.
Today, in the NYTimes' newsletter The Morning, here's what Maggie Haberman told David Leonhardt about whether she thinks TFP will run in '24.
'Maggie: I think Trump misses the pomp and legal protections that the presidency afforded him. I also think he wants revenge on Biden, and on the media, and on a whole range of people. And he wants to be able to continue to raise money and get attention, both of which disappear if he doesn’t run. What I’m not clear on is that he really wants to wage another campaign, in part because he’s that much older and in part because he seems less engaged generally. But that will reveal itself in the coming weeks or months.'
It was possible to know the truth, I got it; republicans not only abandoned the rule of law, they abandoned common sense and any pretense of integrity, by looking outside and seeing a storm and declaring clear weather.
Opportunity returns overrides integrity, especially if the costs are not closely associated with me. Republicans have never paid the price.
Excellent commentary, Fern. The LIES & THE RULE OF LAW seem to be intertwined in a vicious, endless cycle indeed. BTW, I saw an interview with Haberman yesterday morning. She is brilliant, and exemplifies the type of journalism that used to be the standard we expected. Can’t wait to read her book!
Maggie hypnotized him.
Ha!! I think you are so absolutely right. Just from the clips I have heard, she is low key and keeps her voice incredibly even, non- threatening. She seemed to lull him down the road of revealing himself. Somewhere he said he liked her because it was like "talking to a psychiatrist." While I think Mary Trump has a unique understanding of the young Donald, Maggie Haberman may have the best grasp yet of Donald the older man!
I quote Steve Schmidt:
"Any news organization with a functioning ethical compass would have understood that Maggie Haberman had a conflict with regard to covering Trump because of her family’s long-standing financial connections and relationship to the Kushner family. The New York Times didn’t see it that way. They saw opportunity. They saw a chance to take the inside lane, and make an access play. With that decision, a new journalistic era began at The New York Times that has broadly affected political coverage over these last years. It has ended with the destruction of the Watergate ethic and the reputation of the American media in the eyes of the American people, who despise them. Survey after survey testifies to the collapse of belief and trust in everyday people when it comes to what is reported to them by the media.
What is Maggie Haberman’s job? Supposedly, a journalist’s job is to report the news without fear or favor.
Ms. Haberman learned that Donald Trump had taken classified information from the White House to Mar-a-Lago in 2021. This was vital and important information that was withheld from the American people for her book and to make money — and with the permission of The New York Times editors. It is shameful conduct. It is scandalous conduct. America’s political reporters are, broadly speaking, the anchors around the ankles of the journalists who are risking their lives all around the world to reveal the truth. They certainly have no type of moral standing, and despite whatever delusions some may have, they hold no priesthood status in our free society."
https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/media-corruption-at-the-paper-of?publication_id=836444&post_id=75927083&isFreemail=true
Thx, Chips: I was reading these comments to see if anyone had posted the link to his substack post. Per Schmidt, Haberman is no different than Barr, & too many others, who are more interested in the sale of their books than reporting in real time, when it might benefit our country & we the people. Maggie had a lot of important information that she just sat on, including knowledge of t’s cache of presidential documents, preferring to fill her & t’s description of her role as his “psychiatrist.”
“This was vital and important information that was withheld from the American people for her book and to make money — and with the permission of The New York Times editors.” I don’t mean to defend her. Yes, but I don’t imagine Haberman was the only one who knew and “withheld” this information. The archivists at NARA knew, but they had their reasons not to report it early on. If the issue of documents tfg absconded with had come out at the same time as the January 6 business, maybe the public awareness of each would have diminished. Or, TFG dominating the news on two fronts vs. Biden doing his job.
FERN MCBRIDE (NYC) - "In a review of journalist Maggie Haberman’s just released book about Trump called, The Confidence Man, readers will learn how Trump polished his Art of Lying."
[Gift Link]
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/books/review/confidence-man-donald-trump-maggie-haberman.html?unlocked_article_code=95BgiwX3mYcsGqfxmGaFEZmwTtcxfXZOsZBcNLGb8TimhtYZ0uhXtURKamaCgduaZlRBy6ch2wSaL9IHj8p-IVEvIlCY9kPaW3gnG08NBo-Xa7e4KNiUJgZud-d9ivRHu5xJ6k4sJlEdnE7HzE7QbOy3d4F7wPCCGgeu3wqjOgmfLBi4QC-aeCEDIxNhOmDc_peks6sxEaCm3OYeCI50hnZaxb8a7EPxcKfh9ap1i-OMSHasPEEa5h5_pIJPmmO8scIQtVpgj1HrufxJsnigQGaTDeW_rsWDCQrcyZ8paBYqGcMhgCYRfHbDPa6ExLrM5R1v9wfPCq2FdLMqX9esM288BYy7s3JSyIPlXm7g0-9rdOofSbQHqcoa&smid=share-url
Ron, Always lending a hand and contributing good ideas. Thank you. I have a tip for you. Open the comment to edit; eliminate the tail of the link until you reach the ? and stop there. We'll then have more space and free of the mumbo-jumbo, not meant for us. Cheers, Ron, and thanks again.
Fern, Ron shared a gift link. I believe all the code after the "?" must be included for non-NYT subscribers to be able to read the article.
No, Mim. Works best without the tail.
I couldn't test it, Fern, since I'm a digital subscriber. Have you for sure verified with non-subscribers that they can read such gifts without the tail?
Fern, I convinced myself that the "tail" contained the "Gift" code, so left it on. Let's try it without the "Tail" and see. (I can't, personally, check since I have access anyway.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/books/review/confidence-man-donald-trump-maggie-haberman.html?
That was my understanding, too, Ron.
Mim Eisenberg, Yeah, I am still confused about the "unlocked article code=..." contained in the "tail." Again, I am unable to confirm the tailless version since I have a subscription to the NYT. Can I assume those that say it works without the "tail" do not subscribe?
In any event, I can do it either way.
Mimi, I apologize for not realizing at first why you wanted to know if I was a subscriber You knew that as a subscriber to the NY Times, I could not claim that the gifted link without the tail worked for non-subscribers. I have tested this with non-subscribers in the past, and I know in this case at least one posted that the tailless link worked for them. I hope all is understandable now. Salud!
I did it, and already posted that it works perfectly without the tail. You'll have a beautiful tailless link. I've done this many times. Cheers!
That worked!
Works beautifully without the tail. Lose that tail! Thanks, Ron.
An argument can be made that reading skills are essential for a democracy to function, whereas visual and auditory skills favor authoritarianism. Reading is a two or three step process where sight translates written language into mental imagery based on the mind and education of the reader, which acts as a filter. Visual graphics, i.e. film or video, bypass the cognitive filter of the cerebral cortex and pass straight through to the amygdala, which governs emotions. Losing the filter means losing the ability to think. The voice of the authoritarian competes with the voice in our head. Trump has perfected the huckster's pitch, sing-song, and familiar. We realize afterwards that Trump has been lying his ass off, but the amygdalain part of us wants to hear Trump's spiel because he's so entertaining. His is the voice and sound of seduction. He succeeds because his voice lives entirely in the present, with no consistency with either the past or the future. It's like a movie where the character's attention is drawn to a newspaper or letter, often for no longer a second or two on the screen. The letter or newspaper page is a prop on which anything can be written. The images fly by like a road sign seen through the window of a car or a train. The sign is seen but not comprehended, and we're asked to accept on faith that it says what the characters tell us it says. Filtering is hard, and thinking is harder. The dissonance makes thinking all but impossible. This is why driving while texting or carrying on a phone conversation is the equivalent of a DUI. Distracted driving is the same as distracted thinking. And the Republican Party's modus operandi is the same as putting us all on a roller coaster while we're trying to figure out what they are pitching, and whether any of it is true.
Arthur, Your cognitive tour stirred my pre-frontal cortex, left brain, amygdala...while unable to map it all out, I applaud your brainy depiction of authoritarianism and Trump. It was so unlike the poor English used to mock him. At the end, I imagined Trump reading your tour description out loud to himself. It's not The Apprentice; that's for sure.
Glad you liked it. I cannot imagine Trump reading anything. He writes as though he is about fifteen or sixteen years of age. Trump's niece, Mary Trump, would say much the same thing, but more colorfully and in greater detail.
Maggie is interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning this week. Available on Paramount+, likely elsewhere. Her calm assessment of Trump’s character is remarkable. Her declaration of him seeming a bit lost and “diminished” since 2020 quite heartening.
Here's the link to the Maggie Haberman interview:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maggie-haberman-on-donald-trump-confidence-man/
Exactly. That and a little help from Uncle Vlad.
Arthur, least we forget the extention of the Republican Party, the Supreme Court that comes back in session today to trounce our rights.
Arthur, Where was the Republican party bc Trump? Why have they completely abandoned The Rule of Law? He captured millions -- so their political toilet and the electoral college are one.
Media contributed to the rise of tRump. And journalists continue to aid and abet.
Hypocracy On top of itself.
I trust the honorable Governor of Florida will be policing the inevitable surge of the folks he hates so much as they are called to the state to replace the walls and roofs of his supporters who will and now do need them? I get not getting oranges, but how does he expect to rebuild the most precious and valuable parts of his State (in a timely fashion) without those people? Good luck Ronnie. Good luck.
I’m a former Floridian. This past Spring I finally sold a home there that I had inherited from my parents. The home was built in the 30s - so it took a lot of work to get it up to code and to keep it maintained while I was the owner. Most of the workers on the larger jobs were from other parts of the world - the majority from Mexico. I have no idea if they were in the country legally or not, but I do know that they worked hard and well. I’ve also wondered who the heck is going to do their jobs if we were to lose them as workers? And then there is the work of rebuilding after a hurricane. Good luck, Ronnie, indeed.
I’m guessing migrants are already hard at work helping to rebuild our battered state…
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/04/1052485290/migrant-workers-who-clean-up-climate-disasters-for-work-often-pay-a-price
And these workers were instrumental in the cleanup after 9/11; many of them died of the toxic substances they breathed before any sort of compensation was given. (I think the book was The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornell Villavicencio)
He will blame Dems, wait for it. And the damning of “others” will continue unabated. They smell victory and the sheep baa…
While turning to the federal government with his hand out. That so many people can't or won't see the absolute hypocrisy of these guys is perhaps a testament to our educational system or just plain willingness to be bamboozled. What's chilling for me is the depth of hatred and fear that must have been roiling just below the surface in the population, which trumpf and his cronies tapped and unleashed.
As a non lawyer, I am convinced that Florida Governor DeSantis and his minions flagrantly broke laws in their political caper to falsely entice 48 Venezuelan asylum seekers in Texas to be flown to Massachusetts with the promise of “up to eight months of cash assistance.”
It appears that Perla Huerta, a woman with a background in counterintelligence, went from Tampa to Texas with funds to organize this ‘political caper.’ She recruited desperate Venezuelans in grocery stores and elsewhere, providing McDonald meals and, on occasion, motel accommodations.
Under false pretenses four dozen Venezuelans were put on a plane (funded with $615,000 drawn from a Florida budget item authorizing $12 million “to create a program for transporting UNAUTHORIZED MIGRANTS OUT OF FLORIDA.)
Upon arriving at the Marthas Vineyard Airport, these Venezuelans were offloaded and dumped on the tarmac without funds, food, or any assistance. Local individuals and community services rescued these abandoned human beings.
The Marshall Court (1801-1835) interpreted the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to give Congress jurisdiction over numerous aspects of intrastate and interstate commerce as well as activities that had traditionally been regarded not to be commerce.
THE VIRTUAL KIDNAPPING OF 48 VENEZUELAN ASYLUM SEEKERS IN TEXAS AND THEN FLYING THEM TO TWO OTHER STATES BEFORE DUMPING THEM IN MASSACHUSETTS WOULD APPEAR TO BE AN INTERSTATE CRIME.
Moreover, DeSantis’s use of funds designated to transport unauthorized migrants out of Florida to recruit Venezuelans in Texas to be flown to Marthas Vineyard clearly is illegal.
A sheriff in Texas currently is exploring the legality of this operation. Several Venezuelans have filed suit about their being illegally shanghaied.I would hope that the Department of Justice would focus on the ‘interstate’ illegality of this political travesty.
Presidential aspirant DeSantis’s Marthas Vineyard’s ‘political caper’ reminds me of the Hunt/Liddy Nixon White House Plumber’s Unit, whose activities, while despicable and illegal, did not engage in human trafficking.
Good summary of relevant facts Keith. See, the carefully annotated outline of the underlying criminal acts assembled by Norman Eisen & Fred Wertheimer at www.justsecurity.org/83232/was-desantis-shipping-migrants-to-marthas-vineyard-a-crime/ including the overt acts of "Emmanuel " as well as "Perla" with a Link to the Class Action detailing the interstate transport & intentional manipulation of these valid Venezuelan asylum seekers. 10/3/22 UPDATE: "Perla" has been identified by Edgar Sandoval, NYT, as PERLA HUERTA who will renamed in the Class Action Complaint in place of DOE 1. Apparently, Ms Huerta was released from the US Army in August 2022 after deployments in Iraq & Afghanistan. The Amended Plaintiffs' Class Complaint should be devastating for the Government Defendants as well as for Defendant "Vertol".
Bryan Warm thanks for your pro bono legal insights. Apart from Texas law, I hope that the Department of Justice explores criminal charges for interstate human trafficking and kidnapping.
Justice has been slippery in dealing with Trumpists. I hope that DeSantis prosecutors have a silver bullet and a wooden spike.
Thanks for the link, Bryan. I've been a fan of Fred Wertheimer for decades.
"Nixon White House Plumber’s Unit, whose activities were equally illegal"
Illegal certainly, but less personally cruel. Certainly if you or I had perpetrated such a fraud, let alone technical kidnapping, I'm sure it would not pass unnoticed by law enforcement. Certainly people are arrested for much less. And that thing about OK to use the interest on a federal payment for dodgy agendas? That's just a loony loophole that absolutely invites abuse.
JL Don Segretti, in a long interview in CA with Carl Bernstein, initially spoke effusively of his ‘playful pranks’ as part of his activities with the Hunt/Liddy Nixon White House Plumbers Unit. Then he gradually realized that this was illegal and that he would go to the slammer.
You are spot on that DeSantis’s Marthas Vineyard ‘political caper’ is far more serious, infringing on the basic rights of human beings including kidnapping and other serious crimes.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and nothing was true… The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Where we find ourselves, as chump said, “I have rich friends.” Best reason ever to run for President. Propaganda is not cheap.
When faced with truth, deniers take refuge in cynicism. Going to keep that reminder close.
Joyce Vance talks tonight at her Substack (you should subscribe!) about whether DeSantis and the people involved in this fakakte could be charged under Federal Kidnapping laws and concludes that a case can be made - assuming a US attorney could be found to take it.
Robert Hubbell (another Substack you should subscribe to) has a good description of the issues that are coming on "The First Monday in October" at the Supreme Court.
Just FYI, "fakakte" is an adjective meaning full of you know what. Next time, please say "fakakte situation" or whatever. Thanks.
https://everything2.com/title/farkakte
Out here, it gets used as a substitute for the word it sounds similar to. :-)
I have no way of verifying or disputing that.
Hannah Arendt - the banality of evil - Adam Schiff the use of lies and misinformation and GOP cowardice and complicity in evil - Mitt Romney on his lack of courage in ignoring obstruction - all that’s necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke - a republic if you can keep it - Ben Franklin - let’s roll, the Flight downed over Pennsylvania - Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland - Never Again - the Holocaust - a day that will live in infamy - our last declaration of war - Eddie Adams photograph of the street shooting and the photo of the burning girl in the My Ly massacre - Nobel James Franck - The Franck Report - The Manhattan Project - Putin’s lies about voting in the Donbas - nuclear war - the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - the cause of prejudice is fear and ignorance - racism in America - Jews will not replace us - racism in state governments - the stench in SCOTUS - complicit MSM support of Trump coming down the escalator - the pathological liar in chief -
Do we need more? Will DOJ investigate and indict and convict?
Does AG Garland have a choice - and the courage.
The consequences. Banality of Evil.
Hannah Arendt.
So... not Edmund Burke: At best, the essence of the quote can be traced back to the utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, who delivered an 1867 inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews and stated: “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
Wow, good memory you…
He won´t. And won´t prosecute Biden either. What was the reality in Donbas though? They voted no?
Still in your Fox hole
The R’s are complicit as hell. Their denials are catching up with them. Putin is so similar except...he is in control of nuclear weaponry with the flick of the switch. The R’s are not, thank goodness! Trump is the R’s nightmare not their leader. He cannot stand being ignored so he blabbers untruths and threats. The more threats, the louder he becomes but the DOJ is taking notes and adding things to their already bulging list of charges. Okay, I have seen and heard enough. That SOB should be dragged off to prison. If that cannot be acknowledged, then isolate him from “friends” and family. Squeeze him until he panics and cries uncle.
Republicans have been stitching their monster for decades now, and own it even when in more guarded moments, they fear it. Their quest for absolute power has made a monstrosity of the entire party.
Well said. I'm borrowing that JL - ".. have been stitching their monster for decades"
I’m borrowing it also, now I have Frankenstein’s monster stuck in my head! (“Who’s brain DID you take?” “Uhh...Abby something...” )
Haha, Karen. We named our garden "trailer" AbbiNormal!
Nailed them, I especially imagine that Mitch has his moments, wondering how he lost to such as that. But it’s hard to be mad when you create your own morass.
Throw the book at him and them! Oh, wait. Now we know why they have been banning books!
And appointing crooked judges.
Too many of Don’s appointed judges were recruited in law school by Federalist Society. They genuinely believe in their interpretation of the law. They aren’t really ”crooked” but they are delusional by my standards. Pompeo was a big part of their ascendancy. As an evil man, Mike is right there with Dick Cheney.
Mike, I honestly believe that they are not delusional. They are not innocent children. The moment he told the audience that they could "beat the crap out of them" (rally protesters) and he would pay their lawyers (one of his many big lies) it was clear what we AND they were dealing with. The ride to stardom was just too luring to pay respect to the rule of law. The slippery slope turned into an icy mountain slope and they are hanging on to his tailcoat for the ride. Democratic principles have been trashed for the hope of glory, however tarnished or fascist it may be. The whole lot of these particularly lawless opportunists need to be prosecuted and pulled off our payroll!!!
I don’t throw the judges into that category. Certainly the rally crowds fit. I have not met any of the Federalist judges but would like to. They must have some logic in their thinking. I don’t know what it is but would love an explanation.
My "they" was aimed at Republicans leaders as well as a few questionable dems.
However, IMHO, the Federalist Society's concept of "originalism" from my various readings, usually strikes me as an incompletely examined and contested idea, masquerading as a philosophy, used to serve the interests of a narrow group of citizens. But what do I, a retired teacher, know about such things?
I am being snarky, and not all Trump appointees appear crooked, though some have seemed more that willing to fabricate in order to advance ideology. I do not see Judge Cannon as a woman of principle. I don't see "Citizens United" as empirically sound. Tyranny, such a slavery, is always given a pious-sounding cover story which some may believe, but I their heart of hearts, those who adopt it know is indefensible, thus the furor you risk by any making any challenge to it. They sense that exposure to good-faith debate would be devastating.
Certainly is possible for opposing opinions to be sincere and even, at least is part, present valid perspectives, though too many politicized arguments seem a made-up cover story for a foregone conclusion.
Yep, don’t forget Dickie, he was a master at stitching monsters
lol Lynell ~
You have to love the idea of Don suggesting he be invited to negotiate an end to Vlad’s war. What country, besides Saudi Arabia, would ever turn to that moron for anything?
Vlad was counting on him to win and just hand Ukraine over, still has hopes, in my humble opinion. Just like all the “rich friends,” hangers-on, and republican traitors, and, of course, Rupert Murdoch, they are eager beyond words to have free rein again.
Jeez, Jeri, the odor of trumps “hangers on” as you call them, must be suffocating. Out here, deep in the mountains we call them “cling-ons.” A situation that develops after a cold winter and not changing your long Johns or bathing until may.
The Don has proved to be the most useful fool a dictator could ever hope for. Of course even a dictator's fools don't always win.
“The more threats, the louder he becomes but the DOJ is taking notes and adding things to their already bulging list of charges.” And the more threats by TFG and his followers the more likely violence against those who oppose them is likely. Removing TFG’s megaphone ASAP is critical to prevent another Insurrection attempt. For the safety of this country.
Damn, remove his megaphone. Been waiting for decades for Rupert to come to his senses. But alas, his brain cells are $ signs
And his spawn appear to be cut of the same cloth. There is no more repulsive collection of molecules than Rupert Murdoch.
Remove his megaphone, yes...but there is the vast array of the MSM that will continue airing/writing about/following his every move every day. Murdoch and Fox are culpable, for sure.
You mean those rich friends he acquired by being president. If only…. My fear, that a Repub win in either house will drastically alter DOJ’s efforts
A win in either house will alter the actions of the committee(s) that are investigating the various crimes committed by T**** and his sycophants in the government. But the DOJ is not beholden to the Congress. And Merrick Garland will continue to lead that lumbering giant as it continues on the path that has been set. "No one is above the law." And for one of the best speeches of this century, I give you https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-administers-oath-allegiance-and-delivers
The transcript is impressive; the clips of him giving that speech I have seen are awe inspiring. I wil continue to have confidence in him and all the people in the DOJ.
These Letters are useful as they shine light on the threats within using other world leaders behavior to illuminate our bedeviled leaders in waiting. The road to an illiberal democracy is built upon their lies and our willingness (cynicism?) to look the otherway while boasting "never here."
The Republicans continue to be complicit because they need the TFG’s MAGA Mob to keep their seats. That is the GOP’s millstone and the threat to our democracy. Does the MAGA Mob know they’re being lied to by their messiah and still run to him? I think they choose to believe whatever he says, and will continue to do so no matter what the verdict of any trial or the result of any election.
The tail really is wagging the dog.
Meanness and cruelty has an appeal for too many people who are psychologically attracted to those attributes. They somehow feel safer when they try to crawl under the cloak of cruelty, not reckoning that the cruel ones will turn on a penny to toss them into the cold. Reminds me of the Crosby, Stills and Nash song, "Teach your children well their fathers' hell..."
Bully world, any third grade knows it. Love that song, reminds me of “You Have to be Taught…”
It seems to me that the preponderance of avoidable human suffering is directly and indirectly traceable to bullying of one sort or another, and yet we continue to seem so conflicted about containing it.
The 1% that bankrolls so much of the deception is really the tail that wags the dog. To what extent has government of, by, and for the people being "tr#mped"? And the welcome mat rolled out for finally set-adrift ex-Democratic ultra-racists by power hungry Republicans was a "deal with the Devil" if I ever saw one. They have been on-course for total despotism ever since.
".. 1% that bankrolls so much.. " Yes JL, there you have pulled back the curtain and reveal 'the wizard (s). There's this that's been said many times paraphrased differently - "... . . . it is easier to bamboozle than to debamboozle." - 1927 journalist Norman Angell
Chump told the tale when he was quoted as saying that the presidency had given him so many new rich friends, secret friends that people don’t know about.
More love letters, perhaps?
Would not caution be warranted around anyone whose heroes are the world's most vicious tyrants?
I think they know they are being lied to, but hate being wrong and admitting they were lied to.
I am just a casual observer with an impression that cults tend to gather around a set of fictions that somehow bonds the members together. Perhaps the content of the fiction is secondary to the fact that only the insiders espouse and/or believe it. I think that's why they can say repeat things too absurd to be satire and never flinch. Some believe because that's what you do. Some know they are lying. Some have an agenda. Some, more than anything, want to belong. Or so it seems to me. That's why glaring counter-evidence does not easily dispel the madness. In a full out tyranny, membership is enforced with the threat of violence. We are seeing some of that already.
Perhaps the characteristics allowing some people to believe in a deity, are the same ones that allow them to be led by a conman and his cronies.
Not everyone who is religious or even Christian approaches it as a cult system, but that seems to me to be very common. Nothing recorded about Jesus suggests to me he would have been OK with the Crusades or burning people at the stake, and yet the history of what is called "religion" is strewn with sociopathic behaviors. The salient themes of teaching attributed to Jesus emphasize humility and kindness, yet Trump "Christians" seem to despise the most disadvantaged poor, worship the rich, and and are eager to massacre their enemies. "Christians" such as MLK and supposedly Trump and Putin, are sorted under the same label, but seem polar opposites.
I think cults can form around any mandatory belief system that is hostile to questioning and counter evidence, such as racism, or jingoistic nationalism. It really centers around a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing narcissistic thought; that only we are the righteous, the "real" Americans, the Master Race, etc. The mental malware of circular thinking provides obedient foot soldiers for many a sociopathic tyrant, and kept the curse of tyranny alive and kicking throughout the ages.
"Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln
I agree. I would say, however, that one can be compassionate, tolerant, caring, generous etc. without having a deity directing, but do it instead because it's the right thing to do. The difference between those who don't need a deity to tell them how to behave and think, and those who do, is that those who are non believers may have done the work to get there, while believers let others do the heavy lifting. When you are prone to following someone else's philosophy, belief system, you may also be more prone to allowing any other leader to tell you what to believe and perhaps more prone to be swayed to swallow fantasies and lies. George Lakoff writes about the differences between conservatives and liberals, and suggests that conservatives tend to be more afraid of change and difference. People tend to be drawn to religious beliefs that resonate with something in their psychology, so being afraid of change and difference and believing in a particularly rigid or unforgiving religious interpretation, may make them more likely to express their fear and hatred toward others. They may engage much more in projection to protect their view of the world and themselves. All this shouldn't matter, except they get played out in politics and policies that ends up hurting a lot of others.
Thank you for this quote from Lincoln. I had not heard it before.
I don't think the enablers/Congress crowd/big PAC funders, etc. believe anything he says, anymore. He is useful tool...and there's not a single "profile in courage" to be found among them.
They don’t care, just making libs go bat shit crazy. Reward enough
Making the libs go crazy. Like I said, people they don’t like or understand.
DiSantis should send that plane back to Martha's Vineyard to pick up those migrants -- Florida is going to need a LOT of workers to clean up and rebuild after Ian!
"But leaders embraced the lies because they reinforced those leaders’ superiority, and gave them power, over those who did believe them."
Substitute a few words and it sounds so much like "religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." Napoleon Bonaparte
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose....
I wish there was some point where I said, Ah, I didn’t know that. But I would guess that all who comment here know well the truth of the lies. It’s too bad that I don’t hear political ads that say loud and clear. Republicans want to kill SS, Medicare, Democrats are not for open borders, republicans want to control women’s bodies tell you and doctor what is acceptable for you ((including birth control), Democrats have lowered the deficit and provided for middle class expansion, etc. instead I hear the same old blather. There are many groups working to address these issues and I applaud and support them. But the narrative from MSM is still pretending that republicans are legitimate actors instead of “crisis actors,” with a script straight out of Hannah Arendt’s world.
They´re not legitimate? Aren´t they ellected?
What is your definition of “legitimacy”?
It couldn’t possibly have any connection to “Oath of Office”?
Getting elected is simply a process of name recognition, ad dollars and local tribal loyalty. Legitimacy need not apply
I´d point to the election as the legitimacy, actualy. I see you don´t share this point of view. What would be yours? I agree with you about dollars and tribe....I wonder if there´d be any if this is not...
Americans used to have a legitimate expectation that the officials they elected honored an oath of office. Since many Republicans no longer honor that oath, or as voters don’t value that oath, the legitimacy of their service to the country is void
The “election” itself is however “legitimate” in specific terms. There is no requirement that the GOP voting block honor any oath or loyalty to the Constitution, no matter how often they sing the SSB, or regurgitate in rote, The Pledge ( with hand over heart and red maga ballcap on backwards
I live in Brazil. Believe me, i know how you feel about those representatives.
Do you think democrats are any different?
Where have you been? In a Fox hole?
As an expat American living in Europe, I think there is a clear message in the recent Swedish and Italian elections. Immigration is turning otherwise sensible people to the Right. Immigration reform in America is long overdue and the Biden government needs to face this before 2024.
America is the land of immigrants. Immigrants built modern America, supplying labor in the era of industrialisation. But our system is out of control. We need to address these issues immediately to keep Americans from copying both northern, otherwise progressive Sweden and southern, historically fascist Italians. It is not too late, but it must be done.
Our world is out of control. Immigrants wouldn't be pouring into this country if it wasn't. I often wonder what the white nationalists are really afraid of. There is very little peace on this earth at this time. The promise of America is the hope of the world. How do we change the fear/evil that Magas, Proud Boys and other militias, Republicans, etc. are striving so hard to hang onto? I've been reminded this weekend that we need to do it through love and kindness. It's a little hard to find those two words towards the Republicans and Maga, Trump, let alone Putin. But we need to stand up, write to congress, get out the vote and do so with firmness that there is a better world that can be had. I certainly feel there are many wanting that and am grateful Biden is President at this time trying to bring NATO and the world together and to Zelensky is showing us how. We were never promised a Rose Garden or that it wouldn't require enormous work, hardship on our part...it's time.
The so-called immigration problem, is more about our policies toward our neighbors to the south. If we really want to solve this problem we would make major changes in the drug policies for one. The cartels exist primarily because of our hunger for drugs and our insistence on criminalizing drug use. The violence caused by this often forces people to flee. We also often stand by while American corporations exploit the resources in those countries without consideration for the consequences to the local population. If we made a concerted effort to become "good" neighbors we might be able to make a significant dent in the "immigration problem".
If Biden has another chess move in his bag for the next two years it might be to force a Republican House to deal on immigration, should we get one.
You are 109% right. But republicans will never agree. What better cudgel could they have to beat Dems with.
Nowadays, on some issues, all we can hope for for is small progress that shows centrists the hypocrisy and extremism of Republicans. Guns and abortion, for example. The GOP will show the same on immigration.
"I think they know they are being lied to, but hate being wrong and admitting they were lied to."
There is that, plus, I think, if the MAGA Mob acknowledges losing an election, they're acknowledging minority status. That would mean it is no longer "their" country; they have to share it with people they don't like or understand, on an equal basis. They really don't want to swallow that pill.
Thank you for responding to my post.
I fear not so much that I might be found wrong than that I may have not been right.
It was my understanding that TFG ended funding to Mexico that helped Mexico secure their southern border. And the result was more people making it to our southern border states. If that is so, did any funding resume with Biden administration?
Hopeful Beto has a chance to resolve Texas border issues.
Watching video of Ukraine is sickening. Putin is just a KGB thug! Stuck in a Cold War past. I am very hopeful the Ukrainian people can win this war!
Thank you, Heather! Your insight always enlightens!
Beto being buried by the trio of evil running Texas. Hating “others” is a winner for them. I have hope but they have gained ground, sad to say.
This is related (even if it seems out of left field): PM Liz Truss, who on the day of her assumption of leadership in the UK, declared her devotion to Reaganomics, has--in less than a week--rolled back her demands about lowering the income tax rate for highest earners in the UK because she caused the pound sterling and the FTSE to plummet and interest rates to shoot up. And why did she walk back what was clearly one of the stupidest plans ever? Because Truss is not just PM. She is a member of Parliament who has to answer to her constituents at every election. Who is legally required to have a regular "clinic" (in US lingo a Town Hall) in which her own constituency has an opportunity to pepper with questions, submit requests for action, etc. Amurrikans think that our lopsided system--congressional districts were capped to 435 in 1929, which is why Wyoming has more representation per capita than CA or NY--is one in which congresspeople have to answer to their constituents. They're wrong, as we know all too well. Because US reps don't have to look people in the eye and explain why they're behaving so badly, we have lost any semblance of representative democracy. And because the cap also has a huge effect on the Electoral College, the presidency is also under the thumb of the same rigged system. There are ways to fix this, but the fat-arses in Washington don't have the political will to do so. And now we have a SCOTUS that is actively seeking to impose a theocracy on the USA, because of the absolute spinelessness of the people who are supposed to be representing us.