Dana Milbank was right. The MSM are complicit in the "murder of our democracy." I am already wondering what life will be like in an American neo-fascist state. Sickening. Keep up the good work, Eric. Your voice is needed now more than ever.
The "New York Times: The Morning" email literally right next to yours in my inbox has this headline & main story that follows: Good morning. Why do Americans say the economy is in rough shape? Because it is.
I'd post a picture of it in my inbox if I could. Unbelievable!
Since January, all the cable shows have since had a 70%+ decline in viewership. They are desperate to bring back the good times.
When The Former Guy was running things, our Failed Political Press had it easy, there were nonstop scandals! gossip! palace intrigue! That TFG couldn’t even walk down an incline in his 3-inch lifts and needed a general to keep him from toppling over was a full news cycle. The stories wrote themselves.
Competence isn’t exciting. Things working as planned is dull. Our tabloidization is complete.
I'm not pessimistic about the economy. With people still voluntarily leaving their jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.2%, and a minor, temporary inflation we were warned about since 2019 (part of the normal cycling of a capitalist system includes both inflation and recession), I see no reason to fret. What I am alarmed about is seeing the destruction of a good president and the ever more likely return of the most dangerous psychopath to ever occupy the Oval Office. Why does the press seem to want this to happen? Or do they simply thrive on drama after four years of a nonstop Washington dumpster fire?
And in this story on The Hill there is not one single mention that raising the debt ceiling is necessary to cover what has already been spent by the previous administration. No Democratic Senator is quoted, no mention is made as to why the debt ceiling needs to be raised. The Hill: Graham warns GOP about Trump's wrath on debt vote | TheHill.
Prices are up, but the media’s doomsday narrative has spun the story beyond parody. I swear they just pick up the RNC’s daily talking points then add quotes from GOP Congresspeople to fill the “story” out. Even the “good news” is a bit off. Biden has said there will be no shutdowns to deal with Covid spikes. And on a side note, where was the media’s handwringing “how can we afford it?” over the whopping price tag of the defense spending bill?
I saw pushback on Twitter to the Milbank column. Journalists are trying to turn it into “oh we aren’t supposed to be tough on Biden,” setting up a straw man argument to avoid dealing with Milbank’s actual message.
I’d say Trump and the media deserve each other, but we the people are stuck in the middle and our democracy hangs in the balance.
And about that…. Waiting to see (what if any) media reaction to the Barton G piece in the Atlantic. He too is joining the chorus of voices that his fellow colleagues must change their coverage of the GOP. But I’m not holding my breath.
Just this week CNBC’s Jim Cramer said CNBC host Jim Cramer said this is “the strongest economy, perhaps, I’ve ever seen.”
Not only does the media act like inflation is not going away (unless Biden drastically reduces the evil government spending) they act like the midterm election is just a couple of months away so it’s a certainty that inflation will kill Democrats’ chances. I have repeatedly heard this prediction made with absolute certainty.
As I have said before it really feels like many in the press, people who claim to fear for our democracy, can’t wait to see the Democrats thrown out. They are definitely helping make that more likely and it’s hard to believe they are not aware of the effects their obsessively negative reporting has. When a Villager like Dana Milbank is freaking out and accusing his colleagues of assisting in the murder of our democracy you know it’s beyond bad.
(Btw Morning Joe led off its 8 am hour with inflation news). I was cautiously optimistic about Milbank’s column calling the msm to task, and now Eric cites YouGov’s poll confirming the fact that Biden is getting distorted and negative media coverage, vis a vis TFG or otherwise, and most dangerous is the fact that the voters are susceptible to the R ideas the press puts out. But will these FACTS alter the way msm views itself? How about the editors? My hope is that the drip drip drip of criticism from those inside the msm bubble coupled w/the losses in revenue, MIGHT turn the Titanic around in American newsrooms. And is there enough time? (A point of privilege totally off topic, but I highly recommend reading the Jamie Raskin piece in recent Wapos magazine. I cried and had goosebumps all the way through. Now there’s a patriot)!
I have this fantasy that Joey Biden and the Democrats are playing rope-a-dope and will drive the narrative in time for the midterms. Simultaneously, I think about leaving the country should the elections in 2022 and 2024 not go our way. We have all seen a lot of bad times over the years but there is something about the current narrative that scares me more than TFG being elected. The punitive laws being enacted for women are designed to eventually silence and control us, economically and socially. Let's put it this way: "The Handmaid's Tale" is never far from my thoughts. On that happy note, everyone have a good weekend. 333 days until midterms.
I just finished reading Oliver Knox's screed on WashPo Daily 202, entitled " Biden’s policies are popular. But he isn’t." It is an infuriating example of all that you have written above.
By now, y’all know my response to this latest mainstream fail, so I’ll leave it at this: Of what benefit or value is a mainstream, establishment media that works to undercut and oppose one of the two major political parties?
Here is an example of what Eric is saying. The Washington Post has been on a mission to destroy Biden. See 3 headlines below from today's Post.
"Prices climbed 6.8% in November compared with last year, largest rise in nearly four decades, as inflation spreads through economy" Washington Post December 10, 2021
"Opinion: Republicans blame Biden for inflation. So what’s their plan?" Washington Post December 10, 2021
"Inflation pinch challenges Biden agenda, but president says worst will soon pass
Prices keep climbing and the president is working to convince critics that his agenda will help, not hurt." Washington Post December 10, 2021
Today December 10, The NY Times electronic edition has three stories at the top about why the economy is in such terrible shape: "Inflation rising at fastest pace in nearly 40 years new data shows"; "Rising prices continue to complicate Biden's agenda"; "The Morning: Here's why Americans feel grouchy about the economy."
The last by David Leonhardt has such gems as:
"Offices remain eerily empty. Airlines have canceled thousands of flights. Subways and buses are running less often. Schools sometimes call off entire days of class. Consumers waste time waiting in store lines. Annual inflation has reached its highest level in three decades.
Does this sound like a healthy economy to you?"
AND
"But I think the answer to this supposed paradox is that it’s not really a paradox: Americans think the economy is in rough shape because the economy is in rough shape.
Sure, some major statistics look good, and they reflect true economic strengths, including the state of families’ finances. But the economy is more than a household balance sheet; it is the combined experience of working, shopping and interacting in society. Americans evidently understand the distinction: In an Associated Press poll, 64 percent describe their personal finances as good — and only 35 percent describe the national economy as good."
In large part Leonhardt blames Covid fatigue. But he fails to make the connection that the GOP is deliberately prolonging the pandemic, despite noting this:
"In Republican-leaning communities, the biggest Covid problem remains a widespread refusal to take the pandemic seriously. About 40 percent of Republican adults have not received a vaccine shot, according to the most recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll. As a result, the Covid death rate is far higher in heavily Republican counties than in Democratic ones.
Red America’s Covid denialism doesn’t seem to be abating, either. Fox News continues to spread disinformation, as Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post has noted. Many Republican politicians spend more time complaining about mask and vaccine mandates than trying to persuade conservatives to get a potentially lifesaving shot."
And of course it's all the fault of Democrats.
"Blue America, by contrast, has taken Covid seriously. Fewer than 10 percent of Democratic voters have not received a vaccine shot. Political liberals also tend to be comfortable wearing masks to reduce the spread of the Covid virus.
Yet many Democrats, both voters and politicians, have been almost blasé about the costs of Covid precautions — the isolation, unhappiness, health damage, lost learning, inflation, public-transit disruptions and more. Democrats have sometimes focused on minimizing the spread of Covid, regardless of the downsides: Closing schools, for example, almost certainly harms children more than it protects them, given the minuscule rate of severe childhood Covid, even lower than that of severe childhood flu."
You could conclude from this that Leonhardt is telling Democrats to stop worrying about people dying or the pandemic getting worse. It's essentially the GOP narrative that the cure shouldn't be worse than the disease.
Combined with "the economy is terrible" drumbeat, the media is doing its best to grease the skids for a GOP return to power and Trump back in the White House - and it will all be the Democrat's fault for "doing such a terrible job."
Just saw this article written by Robert Reich, who was Secretary of the Department of Labor during the Clinton administration. He doesn't trust most mainstream media, with the exception of the Guardian, so he wrote an article for them:
This post arrived in my inbox sandwiched between two NY Times articles beating bag news about the economy. One was David Leonhardt desperately trying to both-sides 5 face that while unvaccinated Republicans are keeping the pandemic going, the Democrats are harming people by trying to mitigate it. That confirmed that Leonhardt is a pompous fooll bordering on the level of David Btooks.
Dana Milbank was right. The MSM are complicit in the "murder of our democracy." I am already wondering what life will be like in an American neo-fascist state. Sickening. Keep up the good work, Eric. Your voice is needed now more than ever.
The "New York Times: The Morning" email literally right next to yours in my inbox has this headline & main story that follows: Good morning. Why do Americans say the economy is in rough shape? Because it is.
I'd post a picture of it in my inbox if I could. Unbelievable!
Since January, all the cable shows have since had a 70%+ decline in viewership. They are desperate to bring back the good times.
When The Former Guy was running things, our Failed Political Press had it easy, there were nonstop scandals! gossip! palace intrigue! That TFG couldn’t even walk down an incline in his 3-inch lifts and needed a general to keep him from toppling over was a full news cycle. The stories wrote themselves.
Competence isn’t exciting. Things working as planned is dull. Our tabloidization is complete.
I'm not pessimistic about the economy. With people still voluntarily leaving their jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.2%, and a minor, temporary inflation we were warned about since 2019 (part of the normal cycling of a capitalist system includes both inflation and recession), I see no reason to fret. What I am alarmed about is seeing the destruction of a good president and the ever more likely return of the most dangerous psychopath to ever occupy the Oval Office. Why does the press seem to want this to happen? Or do they simply thrive on drama after four years of a nonstop Washington dumpster fire?
And in this story on The Hill there is not one single mention that raising the debt ceiling is necessary to cover what has already been spent by the previous administration. No Democratic Senator is quoted, no mention is made as to why the debt ceiling needs to be raised. The Hill: Graham warns GOP about Trump's wrath on debt vote | TheHill.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/585018-graham-warns-gop-about-trumps-wrath-on-debt-vote
Prices are up, but the media’s doomsday narrative has spun the story beyond parody. I swear they just pick up the RNC’s daily talking points then add quotes from GOP Congresspeople to fill the “story” out. Even the “good news” is a bit off. Biden has said there will be no shutdowns to deal with Covid spikes. And on a side note, where was the media’s handwringing “how can we afford it?” over the whopping price tag of the defense spending bill?
I saw pushback on Twitter to the Milbank column. Journalists are trying to turn it into “oh we aren’t supposed to be tough on Biden,” setting up a straw man argument to avoid dealing with Milbank’s actual message.
I’d say Trump and the media deserve each other, but we the people are stuck in the middle and our democracy hangs in the balance.
And about that…. Waiting to see (what if any) media reaction to the Barton G piece in the Atlantic. He too is joining the chorus of voices that his fellow colleagues must change their coverage of the GOP. But I’m not holding my breath.
Just this week CNBC’s Jim Cramer said CNBC host Jim Cramer said this is “the strongest economy, perhaps, I’ve ever seen.”
Not only does the media act like inflation is not going away (unless Biden drastically reduces the evil government spending) they act like the midterm election is just a couple of months away so it’s a certainty that inflation will kill Democrats’ chances. I have repeatedly heard this prediction made with absolute certainty.
As I have said before it really feels like many in the press, people who claim to fear for our democracy, can’t wait to see the Democrats thrown out. They are definitely helping make that more likely and it’s hard to believe they are not aware of the effects their obsessively negative reporting has. When a Villager like Dana Milbank is freaking out and accusing his colleagues of assisting in the murder of our democracy you know it’s beyond bad.
(Btw Morning Joe led off its 8 am hour with inflation news). I was cautiously optimistic about Milbank’s column calling the msm to task, and now Eric cites YouGov’s poll confirming the fact that Biden is getting distorted and negative media coverage, vis a vis TFG or otherwise, and most dangerous is the fact that the voters are susceptible to the R ideas the press puts out. But will these FACTS alter the way msm views itself? How about the editors? My hope is that the drip drip drip of criticism from those inside the msm bubble coupled w/the losses in revenue, MIGHT turn the Titanic around in American newsrooms. And is there enough time? (A point of privilege totally off topic, but I highly recommend reading the Jamie Raskin piece in recent Wapos magazine. I cried and had goosebumps all the way through. Now there’s a patriot)!
I have this fantasy that Joey Biden and the Democrats are playing rope-a-dope and will drive the narrative in time for the midterms. Simultaneously, I think about leaving the country should the elections in 2022 and 2024 not go our way. We have all seen a lot of bad times over the years but there is something about the current narrative that scares me more than TFG being elected. The punitive laws being enacted for women are designed to eventually silence and control us, economically and socially. Let's put it this way: "The Handmaid's Tale" is never far from my thoughts. On that happy note, everyone have a good weekend. 333 days until midterms.
Sorry for being "that guy," but the Summer of Love was in 1967, while Woodstock was in 1969.
I just finished reading Oliver Knox's screed on WashPo Daily 202, entitled " Biden’s policies are popular. But he isn’t." It is an infuriating example of all that you have written above.
By now, y’all know my response to this latest mainstream fail, so I’ll leave it at this: Of what benefit or value is a mainstream, establishment media that works to undercut and oppose one of the two major political parties?
Here is an example of what Eric is saying. The Washington Post has been on a mission to destroy Biden. See 3 headlines below from today's Post.
"Prices climbed 6.8% in November compared with last year, largest rise in nearly four decades, as inflation spreads through economy" Washington Post December 10, 2021
"Opinion: Republicans blame Biden for inflation. So what’s their plan?" Washington Post December 10, 2021
"Inflation pinch challenges Biden agenda, but president says worst will soon pass
Prices keep climbing and the president is working to convince critics that his agenda will help, not hurt." Washington Post December 10, 2021
Today December 10, The NY Times electronic edition has three stories at the top about why the economy is in such terrible shape: "Inflation rising at fastest pace in nearly 40 years new data shows"; "Rising prices continue to complicate Biden's agenda"; "The Morning: Here's why Americans feel grouchy about the economy."
The last by David Leonhardt has such gems as:
"Offices remain eerily empty. Airlines have canceled thousands of flights. Subways and buses are running less often. Schools sometimes call off entire days of class. Consumers waste time waiting in store lines. Annual inflation has reached its highest level in three decades.
Does this sound like a healthy economy to you?"
AND
"But I think the answer to this supposed paradox is that it’s not really a paradox: Americans think the economy is in rough shape because the economy is in rough shape.
Sure, some major statistics look good, and they reflect true economic strengths, including the state of families’ finances. But the economy is more than a household balance sheet; it is the combined experience of working, shopping and interacting in society. Americans evidently understand the distinction: In an Associated Press poll, 64 percent describe their personal finances as good — and only 35 percent describe the national economy as good."
In large part Leonhardt blames Covid fatigue. But he fails to make the connection that the GOP is deliberately prolonging the pandemic, despite noting this:
"In Republican-leaning communities, the biggest Covid problem remains a widespread refusal to take the pandemic seriously. About 40 percent of Republican adults have not received a vaccine shot, according to the most recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll. As a result, the Covid death rate is far higher in heavily Republican counties than in Democratic ones.
Red America’s Covid denialism doesn’t seem to be abating, either. Fox News continues to spread disinformation, as Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post has noted. Many Republican politicians spend more time complaining about mask and vaccine mandates than trying to persuade conservatives to get a potentially lifesaving shot."
And of course it's all the fault of Democrats.
"Blue America, by contrast, has taken Covid seriously. Fewer than 10 percent of Democratic voters have not received a vaccine shot. Political liberals also tend to be comfortable wearing masks to reduce the spread of the Covid virus.
Yet many Democrats, both voters and politicians, have been almost blasé about the costs of Covid precautions — the isolation, unhappiness, health damage, lost learning, inflation, public-transit disruptions and more. Democrats have sometimes focused on minimizing the spread of Covid, regardless of the downsides: Closing schools, for example, almost certainly harms children more than it protects them, given the minuscule rate of severe childhood Covid, even lower than that of severe childhood flu."
You could conclude from this that Leonhardt is telling Democrats to stop worrying about people dying or the pandemic getting worse. It's essentially the GOP narrative that the cure shouldn't be worse than the disease.
Combined with "the economy is terrible" drumbeat, the media is doing its best to grease the skids for a GOP return to power and Trump back in the White House - and it will all be the Democrat's fault for "doing such a terrible job."
Just saw this article written by Robert Reich, who was Secretary of the Department of Labor during the Clinton administration. He doesn't trust most mainstream media, with the exception of the Guardian, so he wrote an article for them:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/09/whats-really-wrong-mainstream-media
This post arrived in my inbox sandwiched between two NY Times articles beating bag news about the economy. One was David Leonhardt desperately trying to both-sides 5 face that while unvaccinated Republicans are keeping the pandemic going, the Democrats are harming people by trying to mitigate it. That confirmed that Leonhardt is a pompous fooll bordering on the level of David Btooks.