What TFG has done is terrifying and appears to have cost US intelligence operatives their lives (among all else) but what’s more frightening is the response of large news organizations that seem to be very much in the pockets of GOP operatives. Terrifying. How do we escape the bonds of efforts to turn our government into a totalitarian regime if the press plays along?
What TFG has done is terrifying and appears to have cost US intelligence operatives their lives (among all else) but what’s more frightening is the response of large news organizations that seem to be very much in the pockets of GOP operatives. Terrifying. How do we escape the bonds of efforts to turn our government into a totalitarian regime if the press plays along?
Remember that Jeff Zuckerthefucker when he was running CNN justified the network broadcasting Trump rallies uncut and commercial free in 2016 because "He brings us great ratings." There's a reason why CNN hasn't been watched at Le Chateau du Chat for the past 10 years. I had dealt with him here where all he was fucking up was TV shows before he went to CNN.
I am with the courtesy police. It has been brought to my attention by others, you have been engaging in profanities about Jeff Z. We must ask you to cease and desist. As a punishment, you must down 2 ounces of Blantons Bourbon to sterilize your mouth, to take the edge off the evening, and also calm your approach. Consider this a warning and keep the bottle handy in case of another slip.
If I was there, I would sip one with you (thats some good stuff). I understand the frustration. Been battling on many different things, frustrating things which portrayed ignorance is displayed to stymie it.
LOL. You guys are a hoot....it sure helps to see this on a Saturday morning when we are so upset over needing to save our Democracy! I am working another damn fish fry instead of having a fun evening at the age of 79....just doing nothing or maybe watch a movie before bed! Who ever thought running for the Treasurer of your county in a Republican county would be so difficult and to boot expensive. I was told by the radio station that I needed to hit the air waves.... and need to invest at least another $3,000 for a position that I will maybe add around $40,000 a year to my coffer or if I lose....zilch! I was told I need to ask my friends for money! I have never ask anyone in my life for money! How in the world do you do that? Maybe I could sell my blood?
Sharon What a gutsy lady campaigning at the age of 79–are you related to President Biden?
I found it was much easier being a Foreign Service Political Officer (Congo/Chile) than being a local township council candidate. I knocked on over 1,000 doors, losing nearly 10 pounds in this political PT.
Asking for money wasn’t my forte. In the men’s room of a political event I was handed $75 cash—I hoped the donor had washed his hands.
My biggest hit was a realtor who had been ‘betrayed’ by a candidate in the previous year’s election and against whom I was running. He asked me how much to defeat this bastard. We’ll, I said, you gave him $6,000 last year. He started to writer a check for $6,000. But, I added, there are two of us running for two seats on township council. His check for $12,000 covered more than our total campaign costs.
County, treasurer, election, invest, $3,000 . . . a deadly combination.
I was an appointed official by Republicans and voted in as the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. Politics never came into the equation of doing the job which paid $80 per meeting whether it took 1 hour or six hours. Didn't count the times I went and walked a tract of land or talked to residents. Some of whom cussed me out. Notably women.
Keep your integrity, Know when to say no in votes and meetings. Be honest in your opinions.
One should not gulp a very drinkable Bourbon such as Blantons.
If you wish to gulp, I would suggest "Bookers" to quench your thirst and speed you to a soon to be had nap. A glass of "Bookers" lasted a good while for me.
Other than Trump's disgraceful mocking of Serge Kovaleski, the most shameful thing that happened during the 2016 campaign was MSNBC airing a table full of Trump merchandise for 45 minutes without a commercial break. In shock, I kept watching to see when they were going to go back to the studio. They didn't until after Trump did an infomercial for several minutes then gave his speech (the only one I ever watched in full). In that speech he taunted Katy Tur, who was in the back. From that day forward I limited the amount of time I spent viewing MSNBC. I never watched CNN for more than a couple of minutes here and there; now I'll never watch CNN again.
I learned everything about Covid- most importantly about brain fog - from MSNBC. Did not know about their original DT sins until now. Always found their “experts” brighter than CNN, so have stayed with them. At medical appointments yesterday got a “taste” of ABC. Needed lots of good bourbon. Luckily had a good novel in hand.
Katy Bear Tur is now the star of MSNBC's daytime news programming. If this is in any way the result of TFG hassling her endless at his phony rallies, I am fine with that. My wife agrees so it can't just be because she is very easy on the eyes!
Susan I’ve only watched cable news most occasionally since September 15, 2021 [instead, watch DVDs and VHSs doing my evening PT.] Most relaxing to avoid the staccato drum beat. Unfortunately Stephen Colbert is a delight which is too late for me, except for later YouTube. Ari I still watch a few times a month.
Sad about CNN (understatement) Chris Licht was Colbert's producer/director for several years - thought he was an intelligent guy - but to go from Colbert to "whataboutism"? Wonder how long this new theme will last.
Sorry - completely disagree about Colbert. Licht seemed to have done ok for him while he worked for him and they got along well. Whoever's bidding hes doing at CNN - thats on him.
I think your anger is misplaced. Colbert is hardly a narcissistic air head and his credentials as a liberal Democrat have been fully vetted. Colbert's show was suffering in its first few months as Stephen tried to do it all. IIRC it was Licht who helped tweak the show and it finally took off. And, of course, Stephen has zero input into what Chris does not that he's no longer with TLS.
YES, Mim. Be selective about news intake. We can all access the positive sources of real news that do exist. Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! Is one I listen to daily.
Not on any f**king day of my long life will I subject even one brain cell to Rupert Murdoch’s vile destructive verbiage. Had enough of that slander in the late 90’s when friends became brain dead. Piss on you and the horse you rode in on.
Murdoch once bought Esquire Magazine and turned it into a 'fortnightly', stripping all journalistic presence and writing ability from it. I will never forgive him for that sin. Luckily, he sold it when it stopped making money, and the new owners restored it to its former status.
There is no "both sides have value" when one side simply follows mindlessly a morally bankrupt narcissistic sociopath. The latest revelations that he's severely compromised national security in yet to be seen damages only underscores his utter lack of care for our country and its democracy. Soulless indeed.
Or turn the TV off altogether and read. There is nothing on Fox that will tell us anything we don't know already. I know what the "others are thinking about" and it is the destruction of democracy. It is a network dedicated to hate. It is a channel that is feeding raw meat to the big lie. It feels like it is wired to Putin's brain. Fox is the antipathy of journalism. It is a propaganda tool that makes a ton of money by stirring the pot of BS.
That being said, MSNBC feels like someone is drilling into my brain. I'll stick to reading and a little PBS Newshour.
Bill, I'm with you. Except I don't watch ANY TV news--even PBS. And I read carefully--often on the NPR website rather than listening to it, because my dog gets anxious if I yell at the radio too early in the morning. He knows that will make for his mom having a more volatile day. If you want a listen that is interesting and presents other perspectives, BBC Radio 4 and RTE (the Irish radio system) are both worth a listen, especially Radio 4's The World at One and RTE's morning and evening news. You can get some of that from the World Service news hours that many NPR stations run, but WAO is more concentrated.
NPR is the worst. They always manage to gloss over every issue and with a heavy right lean. I can't subject myself to it. However, I agree BBC is better.
Allow me to recommend Weekend Edition Saturday, with Scott Simon. Probably the best news program on NPR. He does the finest radio interviews I've heard since Bob Edwards talked weekly with Red Barber (today's was with Holocaust survivor, Tova Friedman; if you listen have tissues at hand) and has introduced me to many musicians I probably would never have heard. He does not gloss over any issue. Ever. NPR is a national treasure that we need to continue to support.
Agreed. I canceled tv several years ago and only read, usually sources Dr. Richardson provides. She has told us the better reporters, to watch out for the information some are attempting to plant in your brain.
yes on all counts...we find we are more accessible, energetic and available to assist what is going on around us when we turn it off. Love "stick to reading and a little PBS Newshour". Thank you.
Respectfully...I do not watch any TV news. It is just set up to sell the commercial time. Remember shock and awe? I believe CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc are harmful to critical thinking. I am careful when I read the NYT as well. I rarely read the NYT opinion pieces. All of mainstream media use dog-whistle tactics. All of the talking heads are sticking to a prescribed lane (for an entertainers pay grade which is no small change). I subscribe to other independent sources like HCR, Chris Hedges, Timothy Snyder, Alec Karakatsanis and others. I watch for long form pieces in the New Yorker and Atlantic. I listen to podcasts. I try to form my own viewpoint that way. Flipping channels from one media empire to another one...I don’t recommend it. Too easy to be swept away. I don’t trust network and cable news. They do not help me with my objective to be an informed voter--that’s for sure.
I’m with you. When I want to know what’s happening in politics I listen to committee meetings and floor speeches on YouTube. Watching how they act, and how much Republicans lie, tells me everything I know. Their sole purpose is to deceive and they refuse to legislate seriously. Do they even know how to be honest?
You launched a very interesting Exchange of comments. I just want to mention that this morning I read a piece about the difference between being a reader and just following broadcast media. It is written by Henry Reese, who was about to introduce Salman Rushdie when Rushdie was attacked. Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/opinion/salman-rushdie-free-speech-writers.html?smid=url-share
The road you follow is a more difficult one, but in the long run, probably the correct way to go, avoiding sources whose commercial or a political agendas make objectivity almost impossible.
I used to watch CBS evening news, but since Heather Cox Richardson told us they hired Mick Mulvaney, I've refused to watch all of them (online) from local to national. I read the Washington Post, but keep wrestling with that since Jeff Besos owns the paper.
My serious hat on this morning and sobering not from drinking but from the events we witness on a daily basis. My coffee brewed from coffee beans grd. in Murphys California by Gold Country Roasters. A small shop I visit when I go to my brother's place.
If you do not view or listen, how do you know? In order to truly understand a situation, we need to observe what is happening at the site where work actually takes place. "Gemba" in Japanese and a way to understand manufacturing. What are they telling people? Listen to them.
My $.02 and not wanting to dwell. I think you know what I mean.
I used to tell my friends I watched Fox in order to keep in touch with a pov I disagreed with. But the lies and distortions became so horrific I couldn’t keep it up. It was like the medieval torture of having molten metal poured in my ears.
There is debate that is healthy - opinion supported by facts. When "alternative facts" are manufactured over and over again by a political party, that party is no longer a legitimate participant in democracy.
Yes Virginia! That is exactly the problem. Talking heads trying to make news rather than report it. The way Biden's speech was treated as "political " and picked apart while everything tfLIARg says is reported as fact tells me we are in big trouble for the midterms. The fact that the primary elections thus far have been so close is insane. We are never told the turnout--what % of registered voters came out to vote in these all important primaries? Real news reporters would not ignore these facts. Luckily, most secretary of state's websites tell the story. Voting is your right and responsibility.
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Linda M has mentioned a couple of his helpers who deliver but he himself resides within you and me. We used to refer to to it as common sense and truth. We must continue delivering those gifts in all seasons whenever and whevever we can.
I also listen to all sides of a debate before deciding. If it's a debate.
The first decision is whether a) both sides are playing with a full deck, and b) both sides are engaging honestly. There is nothing -- fucking NOTHING -- coming out of the current right wing that is both full deck and honest. So there is no debate, and I feel no need to "listen" the the demented liars who are selling delusions.
And that is exactly the point. I used to enjoy "give and take" chats with Republicans. We could debate the virtues of higher taxes or universal education or infrastructure programs. Meat and potatoes stuff. How to improve the world - how much should be private investment vs government involvement, etc. It was healthy.
Now, the MAGA Republicans have decided that ANYTHING a Democrat proposes must be defeated because a Democratic success might help us in the next election. Party over the people. Power rather than the public good. MCConnell personifies this. Fox preaches this.
The Republican Party is now illegitimate as a participant in American Democracy and Fox News is a chapter from an Orwell novel.
The only way out of this is if the MAGAs get drubbed out of office. Otherwise, we are doomed.
To make sure your partisan, happiness-inducing bubble isn't just an illusion, (1) remember that some familiarity with those with whom you disagree, including FoxNews, is necessary for you to know your opponents or enemies, (2) avoid any exclusivity in your sources of information, all of which have either business or political agendas, and (3) only listen to both sides of a debate if they are playing by the same rules, which should never permit the use of unsubstantiated facts.
Thank you for calling it aluminum foil and not tin foil. I worked in the aluminum industry for 32 years, 3 of which were as division engineer at Alcoa's Davenport IA foil mill.
Chaplain Terry, unless you are much older than your picture there wasn't much real tin foil around even when you were a kid. Tin foil was in use before about 1926 when Alusuisse came up with an effective process for rolling aluminum foil or as they would say aluminium foil. Soon aluminum foil the American spelling was being made in the US and Canada too. Both company had their roots in the invention of the smelting process for aluminum. In 1886 Paul-Louis-Toussaint Héroult and Charles Martin Hall independently found out how to smelt aluminum using electrical current to sperate the oxygen in aluminum oxide to get pure aluminum. Hall's invention lead to the Aluminum Company of America and Heroult's to Alusuisse.
In 1991 ALCOA and Alusuisse came very close to a major joint venture for the production of aerospace product. I was part of the technical team putting this together as I was the rolling mill person for ALCOA. The deal fell apart when Alusuisse's parent company would not assume the environmental costs of buried smelting pot lining in Switzerland. Wisely Paul O'Neal then CEO of ALCOA killed the deal as we had enough of our own environmental past sins to deal with in the USA.
As a young engineering supervisor, then 32, I love working in the world of foil from 1976 to late 1979. We were the leading US producer of foil with a whopping 22 percent market share. 22 percent does not give you control of the market so you must compete on quality, delivery and service. To this day I think this is how companies should have to compete and not as the big dog on the block.
When I want to get mad and upset I turn on our local Fox talk radio while driving. Maybe I can handle 5 minutes. (We never got TV when we moved to the mountains 20 years ago so no Fox to watch.) Sometimes I listen to the long stretch of ads to know who NOT to buy from around here.
There was a time when I looked at Fox periodically for exactly that reason. Then they switched from 'radical right with insults' to 'extremist propaganda laced with hate' and I stopped.
I go to faux a couple of times a week to post Truth and Facts to the sheep there. I think we need to leave our bubble occasionally and venture into the alt reality. Just have to know how long you can stay there without getting sick to your stomach. Need a vaccine for faux poison.
I agree that Sinclair is a problem. But they are everywhere and folks may not know that their local stations are owned by Sinclair.
"The Company owns and/or operates 21 RSN brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks."
It's interesting to note that CNN International is quite different from the US version. It is mostly serious reporting and regular shows from Amanpour, Zakarias and Tapper.
When I was able to catch Biden's speech on Thursday night I check CBS and it was not on that station so I turned to MSNBC and there he was! Why???? I thought this was an announced Presidential speech during prime time and Young Sheldon took priority that night on CBS! So, just how many people got to be informed by his speech that night?
Combined, MSNBC and CNN had 3.91 million viewers of the speech. Add to these whatever PBS had and let's call it about 4 million. Meanwhile, Fox carried the speech but with the President's voice muted, substituted by a running commentary by semi-fascist Tucker Carlson, drawing 2.89 million viewers, more than either MSNBC and CNN individually drew. He wins the Josef Goebbels Award for excellence in propaganda for this charade. The regular broadcast networks which drew much more, didn't carry it, which acknowledges that they are in business to make money and don't give a damn about the public service aspect their access to the airwaves is supposed to include.
The President attached 'semi" to his comments the other day about the ideology of the present GOP, and I just followed suit. Nothing 'semi' about Carlson. He's the real thing.
I had turned CBS on for local news and then got busy with a phone conversation and didn't get back with the tv and Sheldon was on....I switched to MSNBC and saw the last 15 minutes. I was shocked that it wasn't on CBS!
Follow the money. That's where TV gets the money to pay its bills including the salaries of those you see on TV. Nothing sinister about that. That's just the way Capitalism works, not biting the hand of those who fuel its enterprises.
I agree with you- we have a Sinclair station that throws the most horrible Murdock type tabloid muck and casts it under the channel logo on line, as “local” news. It relentlessly features BIPOC as murderous, child abusing, masses; while white equivalents are featured as unusual outliers.
The entire Chicago School of Economics should be strung up by their thumbs with ol' Milty Friedman right at the forefront.
Their so-called "theory of economics" has done as much to destroy this country as the entire phalanx of corporations buying the politicians who take their money and do their bidding.
But that’s Milton Friedman, who needs to be forgotten as soon as corporations become non-people again. How often do we hear of Lewis Powell who started business at SCOTUS?
So, I guess eventually the nutty billionaires who imagine that if they can take over the government so they can print money for themselves at the Fed that will be the end of the rainbow......will soon control all "news" outlets. I guess they don't understand that the reason the dollar is not worthless is because they don't control the Fed (although Jerome Powell is pretty close to them).
But, I am hoping Dr. Richardson, when she is finally approached by one of these guys, sends them packing on their merry way!
There's a stark reality about money. There's a point far short of the first billion where collecting more does nothing to improve the quality of your life, exactly the opposite, in fact. I take considerable comfort in that fact. Past the point of probable security in one's dotage, all the improvements are in intangibles like friendship, loved-ones, charity, the arts, nature, etc. Money erects barriers between one's soul and all those good things.
Neither Trump nor his hangers-on have souls to be barred by money...their souls have long since withered and died.
They wouldn't even understand how to enjoy the company of friends and loved-ones. Charity, the arts and nature are for losers, according to those for whom money is all & everything. A person without a soul is a pitiable thing.
My father, who retired after his second million, gardened (as he had when the vegetables he grew fed us all year ‘round), fished (same), and hunted (same after huge freezer came into our garage), having given more than he received. The only change after the two million was the cases of his favorite scotch.
Sounds like a man with a soul who felt contented with his success and then just enjoyed life. Unfortunately, others become addicted and love feeling a power than be become ruthless-- you know, "power for power's sake."
Mike, thanks for this link. It looks like what Malone wants to do is keep establishment conservatives in the fold by providing “unbiased” reporting through CNN. Essentially, he wants to blur the distinction between Fox and the liberal media, which is to say propaganda and legitimate fact finding, so conservatives squeamish about radical conservatives can pretend there is a real middle ground between Republicans and Democrats. I found this sentence illuminating: “ While Malone has previously talked about his affection for Fox News — the US “needs Fox News or something like it. Because otherwise, everything’s leftist,” he told FT — it’s rare for him to opine about programming choices in his own portfolio of properties.” So he’s hired a couple of capos away from liberal media to present the illusion of dispassionate fairness Fox tried to claim for itself and blithely tossed away.
Pamela, you are right. If the “Fourth Estate” gives in to the lies and deceptions, we are doomed. I don’t think we are, however, because of citizens like Heather, who keep at it daily to serve up the Truth about our history and the current terrifying mess we are in because of 45. I can’t even type his name….
I wish I could agree. We have Dan Froomkin and we have Soledad O’Brien and we used to have Dan Boehlert 😢 but their audience is primarily people like us. My point is that every time a journalist speaks up, they get canned, and that’s the problem.
I am grateful to everyone who calls out the press - I truly am. I’m just afraid it’s no match for the US oligarchy.
Well, yes and no. “They” are trying to charge money to use the internet. And the real violent bastards are using the net to foment death and shootings of people “they” don’t like. I never saw the world in an “us” “them” mode, but now I do feel I have enemies. I didn’t growing up. Except the usual enemies….
vote the bastards out and stop stooping to even acknowledge that the poison press has anything to say at all. They can have their echo chambers as long as they don't reach past governments' front doors.
When I first noticed this, way before chump, was when Rupert’s “entertainment opinion news shows” became the “most watched” cable shows. They wanted a piece of Rupert’s honey pot. All three networks, PBS, as well as cable were on the take, making news a money maker that it had never been before. Then chump just made them richer as he maligned their very existence. We all watched it happen, if we weren’t in a chump coma with the rest of the greedy bastards.
What can we do? Work to get out the vote. Write letters to the editor. Call the network and express your disagreements. Call the advertisers and let them know you will no longer buy their products. Become an election judge. Do anything but wring your hands about the media.
I don’t watch, period. I read. CNN has turned to the dark side because of money. Fox is supported mostly by Comcast-I dumped my subscription to cable TV. Easy. Take the gloves off, as Biden is doing, and play a little hardball. Democracy is at stake and Democrats are “outperforming” expectations at this point. We have the momentum but need all hands on deck. Find some way to be an active part of the solution. The media does not run our country. We do. If we act like it and are active, we can take back the narrative. Vote blue in ‘22!!
I'm the same - Have not had cable in forever. I read the news. I'm working at my polling place next election, I write letters. But we are a relatively small community. Yes, we must do these things but millions of people are persuaded by 'respected' news outlets every day and the fact that they are being bought and driven by oligarchs is a serious problem.
Let's not forget Valerie Plame. I don't recall the press pursuing the fact that some loser (A.K.A., Scooter Libby) was the only one who did time, for that, and, not much of it, after Dubya pardoned him. My belief is that that Bush Whitehouse, pretty much all of them, should be in prison - for many, many crimes, for many, many more years. Perhaps, then, we could've avoided all this Trump ridiculousness.
Clearly, we need to free the press. The question is how to wrest the press from the rich Republicans who own it? A larger project would be to educate Americans to the point where they can sus a thing out for themselves and not just believe whatever they are told. Why are so many of us just led around by the nose?
Our lives are stuffed with sensory input to process, minute by minute. There’s hardly time to reflect and weigh the relative merits of it all. Sometimes we’re plain lazy. Once the press was a filter. More and more it’s just a megaphone. It gets tiring, as rapid fire successive scandals begin to devalue one another in their ability to outrage our sensibility.
MSNBC and ABC are doing pretty well, but we have vibrant independent young journalists on social media. Meidastouch is a very good one, so is The Lincoln Project. Most of what you see on MSM is reported by independents first. CNN, CBS, and FOX are all less trustworthy than the Enquirer.
What TFG has done is terrifying and appears to have cost US intelligence operatives their lives (among all else) but what’s more frightening is the response of large news organizations that seem to be very much in the pockets of GOP operatives. Terrifying. How do we escape the bonds of efforts to turn our government into a totalitarian regime if the press plays along?
Stop watching CNN, Faux News and Sinclair stations, and do not buy the advertisers’ products.
Remember that Jeff Zuckerthefucker when he was running CNN justified the network broadcasting Trump rallies uncut and commercial free in 2016 because "He brings us great ratings." There's a reason why CNN hasn't been watched at Le Chateau du Chat for the past 10 years. I had dealt with him here where all he was fucking up was TV shows before he went to CNN.
Mr. TCinLA:
I am with the courtesy police. It has been brought to my attention by others, you have been engaging in profanities about Jeff Z. We must ask you to cease and desist. As a punishment, you must down 2 ounces of Blantons Bourbon to sterilize your mouth, to take the edge off the evening, and also calm your approach. Consider this a warning and keep the bottle handy in case of another slip.
Way to go dude . . .
I actually Laughed Out Loud! Thanks.
TCinLA:
If I was there, I would sip one with you (thats some good stuff). I understand the frustration. Been battling on many different things, frustrating things which portrayed ignorance is displayed to stymie it.
I had to look it up, but you are right about that being quality hooch.
3 hearts (one for each of the preceding)
Me too!!!
Thinking about asking hospice to prescribe your punishment for my hubby who always appreciated a little snort before bedtime…
Having recently shepherded a beloved brother through hospice, my heart is with you, Jeri. A little nip of Blanton's may serve you as well.
Jeri:
Sorry to read this. Doing so might warm his inners and bring back a memory of better times. Best . . .
Jeri:
Ask him what he wants . . . If I can be of some help, let me know.
Well played, sir!
You know, there was a Private Joker . . . Even in the most dire of situations, some of us had a brain.
This is one of those "Damn, I wish I'd said that" comments....
Bill Should Tom drink straight from the bottle or use a f++king straw?
LOL. You guys are a hoot....it sure helps to see this on a Saturday morning when we are so upset over needing to save our Democracy! I am working another damn fish fry instead of having a fun evening at the age of 79....just doing nothing or maybe watch a movie before bed! Who ever thought running for the Treasurer of your county in a Republican county would be so difficult and to boot expensive. I was told by the radio station that I needed to hit the air waves.... and need to invest at least another $3,000 for a position that I will maybe add around $40,000 a year to my coffer or if I lose....zilch! I was told I need to ask my friends for money! I have never ask anyone in my life for money! How in the world do you do that? Maybe I could sell my blood?
Sharon What a gutsy lady campaigning at the age of 79–are you related to President Biden?
I found it was much easier being a Foreign Service Political Officer (Congo/Chile) than being a local township council candidate. I knocked on over 1,000 doors, losing nearly 10 pounds in this political PT.
Asking for money wasn’t my forte. In the men’s room of a political event I was handed $75 cash—I hoped the donor had washed his hands.
My biggest hit was a realtor who had been ‘betrayed’ by a candidate in the previous year’s election and against whom I was running. He asked me how much to defeat this bastard. We’ll, I said, you gave him $6,000 last year. He started to writer a check for $6,000. But, I added, there are two of us running for two seats on township council. His check for $12,000 covered more than our total campaign costs.
P. S. I won.
Hmmm
County, treasurer, election, invest, $3,000 . . . a deadly combination.
I was an appointed official by Republicans and voted in as the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. Politics never came into the equation of doing the job which paid $80 per meeting whether it took 1 hour or six hours. Didn't count the times I went and walked a tract of land or talked to residents. Some of whom cussed me out. Notably women.
Keep your integrity, Know when to say no in votes and meetings. Be honest in your opinions.
Good luck. I am sure you will do fine.
Way to go!
One should not gulp a very drinkable Bourbon such as Blantons.
If you wish to gulp, I would suggest "Bookers" to quench your thirst and speed you to a soon to be had nap. A glass of "Bookers" lasted a good while for me.
That's really funny. I actually get a warning notice from Instagram over the use of the word disgusting in several posts. OMG.
Other than Trump's disgraceful mocking of Serge Kovaleski, the most shameful thing that happened during the 2016 campaign was MSNBC airing a table full of Trump merchandise for 45 minutes without a commercial break. In shock, I kept watching to see when they were going to go back to the studio. They didn't until after Trump did an infomercial for several minutes then gave his speech (the only one I ever watched in full). In that speech he taunted Katy Tur, who was in the back. From that day forward I limited the amount of time I spent viewing MSNBC. I never watched CNN for more than a couple of minutes here and there; now I'll never watch CNN again.
My tolerance for chump anything was a couple of nanoseconds. It’s been like watching The Decline and Fall of the American Experiment” in real time.
MSNBC learned their lesson and Trump taunting Katy Tur made her reputation, broke her out of the pack.
I thought so too until Trump's daily COVID mis/disinformation marathons. They should have stopped the moment he said he wouldn't wear a mask.
Could not watch, the horror was worse than I could have imagined, and I imagined the worst nightmare.
Followed closely by the Cuomo Bros cringy banter on CNN. Good riddance.
I learned everything about Covid- most importantly about brain fog - from MSNBC. Did not know about their original DT sins until now. Always found their “experts” brighter than CNN, so have stayed with them. At medical appointments yesterday got a “taste” of ABC. Needed lots of good bourbon. Luckily had a good novel in hand.
Overall I think MSNBC does an outstanding job of rounding up experts and pundits on most subjects.
Well, at least some good came of that. There is no "other side" in this situation. We are in danger.
I like Katy!
I do too.
Katy Bear Tur is now the star of MSNBC's daytime news programming. If this is in any way the result of TFG hassling her endless at his phony rallies, I am fine with that. My wife agrees so it can't just be because she is very easy on the eyes!
I haven't watched any of the television news for years. It's boring and full of commercials that trivialize the seriousness of what is being reported.
Susan I’ve only watched cable news most occasionally since September 15, 2021 [instead, watch DVDs and VHSs doing my evening PT.] Most relaxing to avoid the staccato drum beat. Unfortunately Stephen Colbert is a delight which is too late for me, except for later YouTube. Ari I still watch a few times a month.
Glad I missed that happening!
And now, Chris Licht is at the helm of CNN. Licht MET with Republicans to discern how CNN might become more Republican friendly. CNN now is FOX lite.
It is very VERY unfortunate that CNN will be an extension of FOX “news”! I say that Ted Turner should come back and run things.
And I understand his replacement at CNN has decided the network has been too kind to democrats and wants that to change … wtaf?
CNN has drunk the Kool Aid
Money, money, and again, money. We are in the fight of our lives and we are fighting for our freedoms.
Media god complex
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02TmyXQ8xb6zh39LhEcEuPxepJBuB91c2P4xR92vgnDuDWgk1zo619m5254wYRDAFql&id=100044651985602&sfnsn=mo
Bad news. That link doesn't work.
You have to be on facebook in order to open fb links. This link works fine.
OK. Thanks
Sorry. Try this one...
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid035Htwrrmc1X4o9ziWZPPrHauDMJsgJMsoXjNpBSiFCHzL53Ak6A1gfk68NM6exD54l&id=100064567426626
It opened for me, and I shared to my own account. Placement follows the Sue Gordon interview post.
Opened for me.
Sad about CNN (understatement) Chris Licht was Colbert's producer/director for several years - thought he was an intelligent guy - but to go from Colbert to "whataboutism"? Wonder how long this new theme will last.
Licht proves he is a conscienceless corporate whore.
Well, we will see - just how "non-partisan" CNN gets - which is really really doubtful.
Sorry - completely disagree about Colbert. Licht seemed to have done ok for him while he worked for him and they got along well. Whoever's bidding hes doing at CNN - thats on him.
I think your anger is misplaced. Colbert is hardly a narcissistic air head and his credentials as a liberal Democrat have been fully vetted. Colbert's show was suffering in its first few months as Stephen tried to do it all. IIRC it was Licht who helped tweak the show and it finally took off. And, of course, Stephen has zero input into what Chris does not that he's no longer with TLS.
I tried to delete my comment. You are correct. Having admitted that, Colbert still was way over the top with his praise of Licht.
You said it so much better than I did! I agree.
YES, Mim. Be selective about news intake. We can all access the positive sources of real news that do exist. Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! Is one I listen to daily.
Thanks for that.
Thanks, I'll add it to my reading list!
Never stray very far from your partisan bubble and you will be much happier.
Ignore people with points-of-view you don’t agree with.
Stick exclusively with MSNBC/The White House Press Office.
Or expand your horizon and jump over to Fox now and then to see what others are thinking about.
I prefer to listen to all sides of the debate before deciding.
Not on any f**king day of my long life will I subject even one brain cell to Rupert Murdoch’s vile destructive verbiage. Had enough of that slander in the late 90’s when friends became brain dead. Piss on you and the horse you rode in on.
Murdoch once bought Esquire Magazine and turned it into a 'fortnightly', stripping all journalistic presence and writing ability from it. I will never forgive him for that sin. Luckily, he sold it when it stopped making money, and the new owners restored it to its former status.
There is no "both sides have value" when one side simply follows mindlessly a morally bankrupt narcissistic sociopath. The latest revelations that he's severely compromised national security in yet to be seen damages only underscores his utter lack of care for our country and its democracy. Soulless indeed.
Amen! Thanks Jeri.....love this post!
Or turn the TV off altogether and read. There is nothing on Fox that will tell us anything we don't know already. I know what the "others are thinking about" and it is the destruction of democracy. It is a network dedicated to hate. It is a channel that is feeding raw meat to the big lie. It feels like it is wired to Putin's brain. Fox is the antipathy of journalism. It is a propaganda tool that makes a ton of money by stirring the pot of BS.
That being said, MSNBC feels like someone is drilling into my brain. I'll stick to reading and a little PBS Newshour.
Bill, I'm with you. Except I don't watch ANY TV news--even PBS. And I read carefully--often on the NPR website rather than listening to it, because my dog gets anxious if I yell at the radio too early in the morning. He knows that will make for his mom having a more volatile day. If you want a listen that is interesting and presents other perspectives, BBC Radio 4 and RTE (the Irish radio system) are both worth a listen, especially Radio 4's The World at One and RTE's morning and evening news. You can get some of that from the World Service news hours that many NPR stations run, but WAO is more concentrated.
NPR is the worst. They always manage to gloss over every issue and with a heavy right lean. I can't subject myself to it. However, I agree BBC is better.
Allow me to recommend Weekend Edition Saturday, with Scott Simon. Probably the best news program on NPR. He does the finest radio interviews I've heard since Bob Edwards talked weekly with Red Barber (today's was with Holocaust survivor, Tova Friedman; if you listen have tissues at hand) and has introduced me to many musicians I probably would never have heard. He does not gloss over any issue. Ever. NPR is a national treasure that we need to continue to support.
PBS News Hour got castrated by Newt Gingrich back in 1995. With the cooperation of Bill "the era of big government is over" Clinton.
PBS News Hour got castrated by Newt Gingrich back in 1995. With the cooperation of Bill "the era of big government is over" Clinton.
Agreed. I canceled tv several years ago and only read, usually sources Dr. Richardson provides. She has told us the better reporters, to watch out for the information some are attempting to plant in your brain.
I'm done with all news, until Trump goes to prison. As luck would have it, the NFL season is about to start. So, I think I'll be okay.
yes on all counts...we find we are more accessible, energetic and available to assist what is going on around us when we turn it off. Love "stick to reading and a little PBS Newshour". Thank you.
Respectfully...I do not watch any TV news. It is just set up to sell the commercial time. Remember shock and awe? I believe CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc are harmful to critical thinking. I am careful when I read the NYT as well. I rarely read the NYT opinion pieces. All of mainstream media use dog-whistle tactics. All of the talking heads are sticking to a prescribed lane (for an entertainers pay grade which is no small change). I subscribe to other independent sources like HCR, Chris Hedges, Timothy Snyder, Alec Karakatsanis and others. I watch for long form pieces in the New Yorker and Atlantic. I listen to podcasts. I try to form my own viewpoint that way. Flipping channels from one media empire to another one...I don’t recommend it. Too easy to be swept away. I don’t trust network and cable news. They do not help me with my objective to be an informed voter--that’s for sure.
I’m with you. When I want to know what’s happening in politics I listen to committee meetings and floor speeches on YouTube. Watching how they act, and how much Republicans lie, tells me everything I know. Their sole purpose is to deceive and they refuse to legislate seriously. Do they even know how to be honest?
You launched a very interesting Exchange of comments. I just want to mention that this morning I read a piece about the difference between being a reader and just following broadcast media. It is written by Henry Reese, who was about to introduce Salman Rushdie when Rushdie was attacked. Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/opinion/salman-rushdie-free-speech-writers.html?smid=url-share
Thank you for the link!
The road you follow is a more difficult one, but in the long run, probably the correct way to go, avoiding sources whose commercial or a political agendas make objectivity almost impossible.
One of my axioms:
If it's the right direction, swim upstream.
I used to watch CBS evening news, but since Heather Cox Richardson told us they hired Mick Mulvaney, I've refused to watch all of them (online) from local to national. I read the Washington Post, but keep wrestling with that since Jeff Besos owns the paper.
Never watch "news." I read.
Though that becomes less rewarding every day.
Good morning Mary:
My serious hat on this morning and sobering not from drinking but from the events we witness on a daily basis. My coffee brewed from coffee beans grd. in Murphys California by Gold Country Roasters. A small shop I visit when I go to my brother's place.
If you do not view or listen, how do you know? In order to truly understand a situation, we need to observe what is happening at the site where work actually takes place. "Gemba" in Japanese and a way to understand manufacturing. What are they telling people? Listen to them.
My $.02 and not wanting to dwell. I think you know what I mean.
You should check out Means Morning News with Sam Saks.
I will. Thanks!
I'm with the readers here. Don't have a TV.
I used to tell my friends I watched Fox in order to keep in touch with a pov I disagreed with. But the lies and distortions became so horrific I couldn’t keep it up. It was like the medieval torture of having molten metal poured in my ears.
good for you for noticing...people become addicted to the adrenaline, the fear mongering
There is debate that is healthy - opinion supported by facts. When "alternative facts" are manufactured over and over again by a political party, that party is no longer a legitimate participant in democracy.
Robert Reich explains it very well:
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-must-we-expect-of-journalism
Bill
Thanks for the link. Reich is--as usual--factual, succinct, and impassioned all at once.
Bill A. Thanks for the link. I'm going to share it to my FB groups.
But MSNBC gives all the Fox I can stomach. If only we had “news” instead of “shows.”
Yes Virginia! That is exactly the problem. Talking heads trying to make news rather than report it. The way Biden's speech was treated as "political " and picked apart while everything tfLIARg says is reported as fact tells me we are in big trouble for the midterms. The fact that the primary elections thus far have been so close is insane. We are never told the turnout--what % of registered voters came out to vote in these all important primaries? Real news reporters would not ignore these facts. Luckily, most secretary of state's websites tell the story. Voting is your right and responsibility.
Not unless the Democrats fix the voting rights act. Which so far seems not a concern?
Thank goodness for Heather's letters!
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Linda M has mentioned a couple of his helpers who deliver but he himself resides within you and me. We used to refer to to it as common sense and truth. We must continue delivering those gifts in all seasons whenever and whevever we can.
I also listen to all sides of a debate before deciding. If it's a debate.
The first decision is whether a) both sides are playing with a full deck, and b) both sides are engaging honestly. There is nothing -- fucking NOTHING -- coming out of the current right wing that is both full deck and honest. So there is no debate, and I feel no need to "listen" the the demented liars who are selling delusions.
And that is exactly the point. I used to enjoy "give and take" chats with Republicans. We could debate the virtues of higher taxes or universal education or infrastructure programs. Meat and potatoes stuff. How to improve the world - how much should be private investment vs government involvement, etc. It was healthy.
Now, the MAGA Republicans have decided that ANYTHING a Democrat proposes must be defeated because a Democratic success might help us in the next election. Party over the people. Power rather than the public good. MCConnell personifies this. Fox preaches this.
The Republican Party is now illegitimate as a participant in American Democracy and Fox News is a chapter from an Orwell novel.
The only way out of this is if the MAGAs get drubbed out of office. Otherwise, we are doomed.
Exactly right.
Precisely.
To make sure your partisan, happiness-inducing bubble isn't just an illusion, (1) remember that some familiarity with those with whom you disagree, including FoxNews, is necessary for you to know your opponents or enemies, (2) avoid any exclusivity in your sources of information, all of which have either business or political agendas, and (3) only listen to both sides of a debate if they are playing by the same rules, which should never permit the use of unsubstantiated facts.
I’m perfectly willing to listen to what others are thinking. Trouble is, they’re all wearing aluminum foil hats and shouting lies.
Thank you for calling it aluminum foil and not tin foil. I worked in the aluminum industry for 32 years, 3 of which were as division engineer at Alcoa's Davenport IA foil mill.
I'm old enough that we called it tin foil when I was a kid!
Chaplain Terry, unless you are much older than your picture there wasn't much real tin foil around even when you were a kid. Tin foil was in use before about 1926 when Alusuisse came up with an effective process for rolling aluminum foil or as they would say aluminium foil. Soon aluminum foil the American spelling was being made in the US and Canada too. Both company had their roots in the invention of the smelting process for aluminum. In 1886 Paul-Louis-Toussaint Héroult and Charles Martin Hall independently found out how to smelt aluminum using electrical current to sperate the oxygen in aluminum oxide to get pure aluminum. Hall's invention lead to the Aluminum Company of America and Heroult's to Alusuisse.
In 1991 ALCOA and Alusuisse came very close to a major joint venture for the production of aerospace product. I was part of the technical team putting this together as I was the rolling mill person for ALCOA. The deal fell apart when Alusuisse's parent company would not assume the environmental costs of buried smelting pot lining in Switzerland. Wisely Paul O'Neal then CEO of ALCOA killed the deal as we had enough of our own environmental past sins to deal with in the USA.
As a young engineering supervisor, then 32, I love working in the world of foil from 1976 to late 1979. We were the leading US producer of foil with a whopping 22 percent market share. 22 percent does not give you control of the market so you must compete on quality, delivery and service. To this day I think this is how companies should have to compete and not as the big dog on the block.
When I want to get mad and upset I turn on our local Fox talk radio while driving. Maybe I can handle 5 minutes. (We never got TV when we moved to the mountains 20 years ago so no Fox to watch.) Sometimes I listen to the long stretch of ads to know who NOT to buy from around here.
We did the same. No tv. Solves a lot of problems. Get the news from WTFJHT and the context from HCR
There's no "thinking" going on at Faux Snooze. Anyone caught thinking there is fired on the spot.
There was a time when I looked at Fox periodically for exactly that reason. Then they switched from 'radical right with insults' to 'extremist propaganda laced with hate' and I stopped.
I go to faux a couple of times a week to post Truth and Facts to the sheep there. I think we need to leave our bubble occasionally and venture into the alt reality. Just have to know how long you can stay there without getting sick to your stomach. Need a vaccine for faux poison.
More productively:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2399046-all-i-really-need-to-know-i-learned-in-kindergarten
That covers pretty much everything and you wont find that on Faux!
I agree that Sinclair is a problem. But they are everywhere and folks may not know that their local stations are owned by Sinclair.
"The Company owns and/or operates 21 RSN brands; owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets; is a leading local news provider in the country; owns multiple national networks; and has TV stations affiliated with all the major broadcast networks."
A one time in this country, such a horizontal monopoly was illegal! Thanks to Saint Ronnie regulations became a ‘four letter’ word!
2 of my 3 local stations are Sinclair.
It's interesting to note that CNN International is quite different from the US version. It is mostly serious reporting and regular shows from Amanpour, Zakarias and Tapper.
and Chris Wallace, my favorite....
We are beyond the point where such boycotts will work.
And boycott ABC, NBC, and CBS.
When I was able to catch Biden's speech on Thursday night I check CBS and it was not on that station so I turned to MSNBC and there he was! Why???? I thought this was an announced Presidential speech during prime time and Young Sheldon took priority that night on CBS! So, just how many people got to be informed by his speech that night?
Combined, MSNBC and CNN had 3.91 million viewers of the speech. Add to these whatever PBS had and let's call it about 4 million. Meanwhile, Fox carried the speech but with the President's voice muted, substituted by a running commentary by semi-fascist Tucker Carlson, drawing 2.89 million viewers, more than either MSNBC and CNN individually drew. He wins the Josef Goebbels Award for excellence in propaganda for this charade. The regular broadcast networks which drew much more, didn't carry it, which acknowledges that they are in business to make money and don't give a damn about the public service aspect their access to the airwaves is supposed to include.
Spot on, Jack... but let's dispense with the 'semi'. I didn't watch on Faux, but I can imagine Tucker's commentary was mostly an attempt at rebuttal.
The President attached 'semi" to his comments the other day about the ideology of the present GOP, and I just followed suit. Nothing 'semi' about Carlson. He's the real thing.
I had turned CBS on for local news and then got busy with a phone conversation and didn't get back with the tv and Sheldon was on....I switched to MSNBC and saw the last 15 minutes. I was shocked that it wasn't on CBS!
Striking proof that mainstream media has been co-opted by right-wing corporate owners.
Follow the money. That's where TV gets the money to pay its bills including the salaries of those you see on TV. Nothing sinister about that. That's just the way Capitalism works, not biting the hand of those who fuel its enterprises.
Exactly.
I agree with you- we have a Sinclair station that throws the most horrible Murdock type tabloid muck and casts it under the channel logo on line, as “local” news. It relentlessly features BIPOC as murderous, child abusing, masses; while white equivalents are featured as unusual outliers.
I do not disagree but CNN carried Biden’s full speech in real time. I saw it there.
I try, but the evil oozes all over…
Make sure to let the advertisers know you are boycotting their company.
That is so important. If everyone actually did, they would change horses immediately. Hit them where it hurts.
Yes boycotting CNN will miss Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper but have been enjoying MSNBC.
I think their foreign correspondents are the best. But I too have switched to MSNBC. They also have more Black and POC representation .
I'm addicted to MSNBC and some CNN. I watch it until I overdose and then read the Post and the Times...what do I do?
Pass an Amendment declaring corporations are not people
And force Fox News to take "News" out of their name.
Fraudulent mislabeling.
Or just change it to what it is Nazi News.
“Ignorance influencers”
If they are, they are sociopaths:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
- Milton Friedman
Sociopathic in any case.
The entire Chicago School of Economics should be strung up by their thumbs with ol' Milty Friedman right at the forefront.
Their so-called "theory of economics" has done as much to destroy this country as the entire phalanx of corporations buying the politicians who take their money and do their bidding.
But that’s Milton Friedman, who needs to be forgotten as soon as corporations become non-people again. How often do we hear of Lewis Powell who started business at SCOTUS?
Meanwhile it is people who are non-people in America.
Politics is supposed to be the business of the polis, i.e. citizens.
No longer.
Polis, people, institutions of the State, the President... bypassed, ignored... CENSORED.
This State appears to have been sold -- citizens, Congress, judiciary, the President himself -- all pigs in a poke.
Well, THAT is what we are given to understand when media organizations predetermine what citizens may see and hear.
Meaning: citizenship itself becomes an empty, meaningless concept in a State governed exclusively by and for money and moneyed interests.
The stink of it circles the globe.
True. Yes, let's include him as well, as one who needs to be hung by his thumbs.
...and let's not forget to add Leonard Leo to the thumb hanging gang.
I would settle for sending them all to Gitmo.
From your lips to god’s ears.
"news organizations that seem to be very much in the pockets of GOP operatives".
Yes, CNN is now in the pocket of Fox sympathizing billionaire.
https://www.vox.com/2022/8/26/23322761/cnn-john-malone-david-zaslav-chris-licht-brian-stelter-fox-peter-kafka-column
So, I guess eventually the nutty billionaires who imagine that if they can take over the government so they can print money for themselves at the Fed that will be the end of the rainbow......will soon control all "news" outlets. I guess they don't understand that the reason the dollar is not worthless is because they don't control the Fed (although Jerome Powell is pretty close to them).
But, I am hoping Dr. Richardson, when she is finally approached by one of these guys, sends them packing on their merry way!
There's a stark reality about money. There's a point far short of the first billion where collecting more does nothing to improve the quality of your life, exactly the opposite, in fact. I take considerable comfort in that fact. Past the point of probable security in one's dotage, all the improvements are in intangibles like friendship, loved-ones, charity, the arts, nature, etc. Money erects barriers between one's soul and all those good things.
Neither Trump nor his hangers-on have souls to be barred by money...their souls have long since withered and died.
They wouldn't even understand how to enjoy the company of friends and loved-ones. Charity, the arts and nature are for losers, according to those for whom money is all & everything. A person without a soul is a pitiable thing.
My father, who retired after his second million, gardened (as he had when the vegetables he grew fed us all year ‘round), fished (same), and hunted (same after huge freezer came into our garage), having given more than he received. The only change after the two million was the cases of his favorite scotch.
Sounds like a man with a soul who felt contented with his success and then just enjoyed life. Unfortunately, others become addicted and love feeling a power than be become ruthless-- you know, "power for power's sake."
That has yet to be discovered by chump and the hangers on, especially our news outlets. Therein lies our dilemma…
That is probably the same line that crossed you believe you should run the world
You are psychically elevated to Mt. Olympus, where the god’s play there vile games and we suffer the fallout.
Mike, thanks for this link. It looks like what Malone wants to do is keep establishment conservatives in the fold by providing “unbiased” reporting through CNN. Essentially, he wants to blur the distinction between Fox and the liberal media, which is to say propaganda and legitimate fact finding, so conservatives squeamish about radical conservatives can pretend there is a real middle ground between Republicans and Democrats. I found this sentence illuminating: “ While Malone has previously talked about his affection for Fox News — the US “needs Fox News or something like it. Because otherwise, everything’s leftist,” he told FT — it’s rare for him to opine about programming choices in his own portfolio of properties.” So he’s hired a couple of capos away from liberal media to present the illusion of dispassionate fairness Fox tried to claim for itself and blithely tossed away.
Pamela, you are right. If the “Fourth Estate” gives in to the lies and deceptions, we are doomed. I don’t think we are, however, because of citizens like Heather, who keep at it daily to serve up the Truth about our history and the current terrifying mess we are in because of 45. I can’t even type his name….
I wonder when one of these guys will contact Dr. Richardson? It is bound to happen.
I hope she sends them packing with a bit of New England chill to take with them!!
I wish I could agree. We have Dan Froomkin and we have Soledad O’Brien and we used to have Dan Boehlert 😢 but their audience is primarily people like us. My point is that every time a journalist speaks up, they get canned, and that’s the problem.
I am grateful to everyone who calls out the press - I truly am. I’m just afraid it’s no match for the US oligarchy.
Like Scott Pelley.
If? The MSM already has.
Agreed, Ann. It is a bad state of affairs.
Thank God for the subversive and (as yet) still relatively free Internet, not completely owned and controlled by an oligarchy of media titans.
Well, yes and no. “They” are trying to charge money to use the internet. And the real violent bastards are using the net to foment death and shootings of people “they” don’t like. I never saw the world in an “us” “them” mode, but now I do feel I have enemies. I didn’t growing up. Except the usual enemies….
referring back to the classic Pogo line about the enemy...
Indeed, check the mirror
But the reach is a drop in the bucket. Sad to say.
vote the bastards out and stop stooping to even acknowledge that the poison press has anything to say at all. They can have their echo chambers as long as they don't reach past governments' front doors.
When I first noticed this, way before chump, was when Rupert’s “entertainment opinion news shows” became the “most watched” cable shows. They wanted a piece of Rupert’s honey pot. All three networks, PBS, as well as cable were on the take, making news a money maker that it had never been before. Then chump just made them richer as he maligned their very existence. We all watched it happen, if we weren’t in a chump coma with the rest of the greedy bastards.
What can we do? Work to get out the vote. Write letters to the editor. Call the network and express your disagreements. Call the advertisers and let them know you will no longer buy their products. Become an election judge. Do anything but wring your hands about the media.
I don’t watch, period. I read. CNN has turned to the dark side because of money. Fox is supported mostly by Comcast-I dumped my subscription to cable TV. Easy. Take the gloves off, as Biden is doing, and play a little hardball. Democracy is at stake and Democrats are “outperforming” expectations at this point. We have the momentum but need all hands on deck. Find some way to be an active part of the solution. The media does not run our country. We do. If we act like it and are active, we can take back the narrative. Vote blue in ‘22!!
I'm the same - Have not had cable in forever. I read the news. I'm working at my polling place next election, I write letters. But we are a relatively small community. Yes, we must do these things but millions of people are persuaded by 'respected' news outlets every day and the fact that they are being bought and driven by oligarchs is a serious problem.
Let's not forget Valerie Plame. I don't recall the press pursuing the fact that some loser (A.K.A., Scooter Libby) was the only one who did time, for that, and, not much of it, after Dubya pardoned him. My belief is that that Bush Whitehouse, pretty much all of them, should be in prison - for many, many crimes, for many, many more years. Perhaps, then, we could've avoided all this Trump ridiculousness.
Based on the majority of comments here, it seems that the White House Press Office is the only safe space for “news” about the administration.
Clearly, we need to free the press. The question is how to wrest the press from the rich Republicans who own it? A larger project would be to educate Americans to the point where they can sus a thing out for themselves and not just believe whatever they are told. Why are so many of us just led around by the nose?
Our lives are stuffed with sensory input to process, minute by minute. There’s hardly time to reflect and weigh the relative merits of it all. Sometimes we’re plain lazy. Once the press was a filter. More and more it’s just a megaphone. It gets tiring, as rapid fire successive scandals begin to devalue one another in their ability to outrage our sensibility.
MSNBC and ABC are doing pretty well, but we have vibrant independent young journalists on social media. Meidastouch is a very good one, so is The Lincoln Project. Most of what you see on MSM is reported by independents first. CNN, CBS, and FOX are all less trustworthy than the Enquirer.