The Republican Party reminds me of the old story -- Solzhenitsyn, I think -- of a District Communist Party meeting where someone called for a round of applause to mark Comrade Stalin's birthday, and an hour later everyone was still on their feet applauding because no one wanted to be pegged as The First One To Stop Clapping.
A subset of Americans revel in denying truth, refusing science, and harming their fellow man. They follow a shameless cult of personality, cultivated by years of light-hearted talk of murdering liberals and minorities. Hate Radio was once a test of press freedom, but has become the basis for countless festering wounds in our failure to curtail false narratives and talk of civil war. If the press cannot bring itself to tell the truth, and the Senate cannot be wrestled from active sedition, the American experiment will end.
In Thomas Edsall's opinion piece in the NYTimes this morning, he argues for use of the expression, 'political sectarianism,' to describe the problem that is putting us all in danger. Reading the comments, often more revealing than Edsall's writing, shows that readers get it: the honest way to describe the problem is that the republican party has gone haywire. It is not both sides.
First, about ETTD: That's from Rick Wilson's book, and Wilson is one of the more interesting characters around. He is a driving force behind The Lincoln Project, his commentaries are great wherever he delivers them, and he understands, as Democrats don't, that you don't bring a pillow to a fight against a nuclear missile. He despises what the republican party has become, and has no self-awareness that he played a role in it--among other things, as the guy behind the Saxby Chambliss ad depicting Senator Max Cleland, the quadriplegic Vietnam veteran, as sympathizing with Osama Bin Laden. But he's helping Democrats now, so, I'm fine with him being around.
To the next item, which addresses the failure to cover republicans as the traitors and terrorists they indisputably are: On Sunday's Meet the Prostitute, retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander weaseled and waffled about whether Joe Biden was president-elect. Note I said retiring. But he's tight with #MassMurderingMoscowMitch (that's my creation, and I like it), who knew all along what would happen and, I'm sure, would prefer Biden anyway because he prefers being treasonous against Democrats than to being treasonous on behalf of a stark raving lunatic. Anyway, The Times's chief Washington correspondent has, on multiple occasions, including in a recent article, cited Alexander as a bipartisan dealmaker. Of course this is absolute garbage: Anything he has been involved in that has been bipartisan has passed by a large margin. But it hit me: He's a source. And a source must be protected, nay, lied about.
We're already seeing the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press go into full attack mode with Joe. Oh and I'm just waiting for the New York Times to once again join forces with BreitFART to trash Hunter Biden.
See the pathetic attacks the CCCP encourages to attack Jill. Why how dare she call herself "Dr. Jill! Nevermind that she has a Ph.D. Nope, the CCCP continues to pump up kooks like Michelle Bachman.
The CCCP pumps up that phony crap instead of covering Steve Schmidt's absolute blistering of the GOP. I got a feeling that the other members of the Lincoln Project--Rick Wilson and Stuart Stevens will also follow Steve and join the Democratic Party wile the CCCP ignores the GOP meltdown and continues to push the "Democrats in disarray" BS.
It was nice to see Jim Acosta rip Kayleigh as Satan's Tinkerbelle sashayed out of the White House Press Room. I'm sure Newsmax will be hiring her to spread her fascist dust come January 20th.
So much to unpack here. Why is the press so complicit in this insanity? The press would be in a very precarious position if Trump had won and if the US became an authoritarian state. Is the press's goal to be controlled by a Vladimir Putin type? Do they want their own journalists imprisoned or worse, as what happened to Jamal Khashoggi? You would think the press would do everything in its power to be a check on a rouge administration for its own survival. However, maybe their goal is simply a financial one. Staying in the good graces of a corrupt administration, and perhaps even worse, cheerlead for one is in their best financial interest. I don't know.
There were two decisions made in this country over the last 40 years that have aided us in ending up where we are today. The first was when the traditional news outlets, NBC, ABC, and CBS, decided that their news divisions needed to show a profit. That let to marketing the news like it was a gameshow. The era of "Eyewitness News - man robs liquor store, film at 11" coverage began. That has led us to today's Newsmax and OAN that both make Fox News look tame by comparison. And the other is Citizens United where big money can contribute as much as they want to campaigns to help elect shills to congress to carry out deregulation, pay no taxes agendas. I'm not sure how we turn it around. The answer has to be us, the 81 million folks that voted to get this lunatic out of the White House. But it's just a start. If we sit on our hands and allow the press to now go back to their "Dems In Disarray" narrative, we'll all be shrieking in two years when the Republicans take back the House. We the People need to keep fighting!
And speaking of press coverage, CNN has repeatedly used the phrase "Missing in Action" to describe Trump's abdication of his responsibilities as POTUS. As a veteran and a human being who is fortunate enough to be able to read I object to this characterization on the grounds that MIA connotes at least honor, that one has served and as a result been killed, captured imprisoned or worse in the line of duty. NO! Trump is AWOL. Absent With Out Leave. He therefore has earned the disdain of anyone and everyone who has served, and all patriots who support the cause of freedom. He should be publicly called out for this rude display of childishness and irresponsibility.
Eric, you have created the perfect outlet for your unabashed critiques of the press, especially of the Beltway variety. Your use of the word 'denial' is spot on when it comes to Republicans, but also the aforementioned press. I was wondering if there's ever a time when calling it straight makes your inner voice say "well there goes my employablility at a major news outlet" and leads you too into some form of holding back? I never took a journalism class but I'm willing to bet nobody passes the course without understanding what is malpractice. Shouldn't editors reinforce the same ethics and standards as professors?
I wonder how the press covered Hitler in 1936? Perhaps by then there was no longer a free press. I think the American press has no idea how to cover these insane times because they have not ever experienced our democracy being eroded by any politician in any party. (well maybe nixon). None of us can wrap our heads around this nor express adequately how outrageous these last four years have been because it has never happened in our lifetime. My father was a Holocaust survivor--he might have been able to express the fear, confusion and disbelief of these last few years had he not passed away before Trump came to power. I resent the media giving any respect to the GOP. They have lost the right to have a place in a democracy.
Thank you for being online. It's been a long time coming and I've been thinking a few years about having a paper like yours. What the MSM is doing is absolutely exhausting and raises one's blood pressure as they make mistake after mistake covering Trump. And then you start thinking "Is it really a mistake? Or are they doing it on purpose just to continue making money?" Capitalism runs on money. They play it all down because Trump brings money. I will be supporting your paper. Thank you again
The Republican Party reminds me of the old story -- Solzhenitsyn, I think -- of a District Communist Party meeting where someone called for a round of applause to mark Comrade Stalin's birthday, and an hour later everyone was still on their feet applauding because no one wanted to be pegged as The First One To Stop Clapping.
A subset of Americans revel in denying truth, refusing science, and harming their fellow man. They follow a shameless cult of personality, cultivated by years of light-hearted talk of murdering liberals and minorities. Hate Radio was once a test of press freedom, but has become the basis for countless festering wounds in our failure to curtail false narratives and talk of civil war. If the press cannot bring itself to tell the truth, and the Senate cannot be wrestled from active sedition, the American experiment will end.
In Thomas Edsall's opinion piece in the NYTimes this morning, he argues for use of the expression, 'political sectarianism,' to describe the problem that is putting us all in danger. Reading the comments, often more revealing than Edsall's writing, shows that readers get it: the honest way to describe the problem is that the republican party has gone haywire. It is not both sides.
First, about ETTD: That's from Rick Wilson's book, and Wilson is one of the more interesting characters around. He is a driving force behind The Lincoln Project, his commentaries are great wherever he delivers them, and he understands, as Democrats don't, that you don't bring a pillow to a fight against a nuclear missile. He despises what the republican party has become, and has no self-awareness that he played a role in it--among other things, as the guy behind the Saxby Chambliss ad depicting Senator Max Cleland, the quadriplegic Vietnam veteran, as sympathizing with Osama Bin Laden. But he's helping Democrats now, so, I'm fine with him being around.
To the next item, which addresses the failure to cover republicans as the traitors and terrorists they indisputably are: On Sunday's Meet the Prostitute, retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander weaseled and waffled about whether Joe Biden was president-elect. Note I said retiring. But he's tight with #MassMurderingMoscowMitch (that's my creation, and I like it), who knew all along what would happen and, I'm sure, would prefer Biden anyway because he prefers being treasonous against Democrats than to being treasonous on behalf of a stark raving lunatic. Anyway, The Times's chief Washington correspondent has, on multiple occasions, including in a recent article, cited Alexander as a bipartisan dealmaker. Of course this is absolute garbage: Anything he has been involved in that has been bipartisan has passed by a large margin. But it hit me: He's a source. And a source must be protected, nay, lied about.
We're already seeing the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press go into full attack mode with Joe. Oh and I'm just waiting for the New York Times to once again join forces with BreitFART to trash Hunter Biden.
See the pathetic attacks the CCCP encourages to attack Jill. Why how dare she call herself "Dr. Jill! Nevermind that she has a Ph.D. Nope, the CCCP continues to pump up kooks like Michelle Bachman.
The CCCP pumps up that phony crap instead of covering Steve Schmidt's absolute blistering of the GOP. I got a feeling that the other members of the Lincoln Project--Rick Wilson and Stuart Stevens will also follow Steve and join the Democratic Party wile the CCCP ignores the GOP meltdown and continues to push the "Democrats in disarray" BS.
It was nice to see Jim Acosta rip Kayleigh as Satan's Tinkerbelle sashayed out of the White House Press Room. I'm sure Newsmax will be hiring her to spread her fascist dust come January 20th.
So much to unpack here. Why is the press so complicit in this insanity? The press would be in a very precarious position if Trump had won and if the US became an authoritarian state. Is the press's goal to be controlled by a Vladimir Putin type? Do they want their own journalists imprisoned or worse, as what happened to Jamal Khashoggi? You would think the press would do everything in its power to be a check on a rouge administration for its own survival. However, maybe their goal is simply a financial one. Staying in the good graces of a corrupt administration, and perhaps even worse, cheerlead for one is in their best financial interest. I don't know.
There were two decisions made in this country over the last 40 years that have aided us in ending up where we are today. The first was when the traditional news outlets, NBC, ABC, and CBS, decided that their news divisions needed to show a profit. That let to marketing the news like it was a gameshow. The era of "Eyewitness News - man robs liquor store, film at 11" coverage began. That has led us to today's Newsmax and OAN that both make Fox News look tame by comparison. And the other is Citizens United where big money can contribute as much as they want to campaigns to help elect shills to congress to carry out deregulation, pay no taxes agendas. I'm not sure how we turn it around. The answer has to be us, the 81 million folks that voted to get this lunatic out of the White House. But it's just a start. If we sit on our hands and allow the press to now go back to their "Dems In Disarray" narrative, we'll all be shrieking in two years when the Republicans take back the House. We the People need to keep fighting!
And speaking of press coverage, CNN has repeatedly used the phrase "Missing in Action" to describe Trump's abdication of his responsibilities as POTUS. As a veteran and a human being who is fortunate enough to be able to read I object to this characterization on the grounds that MIA connotes at least honor, that one has served and as a result been killed, captured imprisoned or worse in the line of duty. NO! Trump is AWOL. Absent With Out Leave. He therefore has earned the disdain of anyone and everyone who has served, and all patriots who support the cause of freedom. He should be publicly called out for this rude display of childishness and irresponsibility.
What will the press do if Biden's press team starts factually labeling Republican behavior as fascist/authoritarian/unhinged?
Eric, you have created the perfect outlet for your unabashed critiques of the press, especially of the Beltway variety. Your use of the word 'denial' is spot on when it comes to Republicans, but also the aforementioned press. I was wondering if there's ever a time when calling it straight makes your inner voice say "well there goes my employablility at a major news outlet" and leads you too into some form of holding back? I never took a journalism class but I'm willing to bet nobody passes the course without understanding what is malpractice. Shouldn't editors reinforce the same ethics and standards as professors?
I wonder how the press covered Hitler in 1936? Perhaps by then there was no longer a free press. I think the American press has no idea how to cover these insane times because they have not ever experienced our democracy being eroded by any politician in any party. (well maybe nixon). None of us can wrap our heads around this nor express adequately how outrageous these last four years have been because it has never happened in our lifetime. My father was a Holocaust survivor--he might have been able to express the fear, confusion and disbelief of these last few years had he not passed away before Trump came to power. I resent the media giving any respect to the GOP. They have lost the right to have a place in a democracy.
Thank you for being online. It's been a long time coming and I've been thinking a few years about having a paper like yours. What the MSM is doing is absolutely exhausting and raises one's blood pressure as they make mistake after mistake covering Trump. And then you start thinking "Is it really a mistake? Or are they doing it on purpose just to continue making money?" Capitalism runs on money. They play it all down because Trump brings money. I will be supporting your paper. Thank you again