Wow! I missed that story about the White House photographer. The media often acts like a bully and now they are cowering because they have met an even bigger bully who isn’t afraid of them.
Their hypocrisy is stunning.
As for the Scarborough murder accusation how can the media be shocked? They know that the Republicans conducted multiple investigations of the insane lie that the Clintons murdered one of their closest friends, Vince Foster. They spent millions of our tax collars on those cruel investigations. The highlight of their insanity was Congressman Dan Burton shooting melons in his backyard to get forensic evidence that Foster couldn’t have committed suicide.
When Kavanaugh was being vetted for the Supreme Court the fact that he was one of the people guilty of this despicable behavior should have gotten more attention:
“ For months, his inquiries callously harassed a grieving family and Mr. Foster’s friends. His office spread malicious sexual innuendo about Hillary Clinton, whom he seems to have regarded as prey. By reopening a closed investigation, he irresponsibly gave the Foster conspiracy freaks credibility to continue smearing the Clintons and poison public debate for another three years, all at the taxpayers’ expense.”
it is a great piece. sadly, my hunch is that lots of people in the media *do* grasp what's going on. they're just too afraid to say the GOP president is an authoritarian
This has been the Republican playbook since Bush 1 and these partisan liars have gained a pipeline for their fabrications directly into the mainstream. Breitbart, OAN, Reddit and, even worse corners of the internet, throw out complete fantasies and too much of the media gets suckered into addressing it. Even Trumpism started with the ridiculous conspiracy theory that Obama was born in a country that didn’t even actually officially exist when he was born.
But so it is, from Vince Foster to Seth Rich to Burisma to Tara Reade to this staffer, the Republican Party is built on a bunch of conspiracy theories, and the rage that flows through their veins is manufactured right here by the local rightist media network. Chaos is a ladder for them, and Trump their greatest drive, because no one is better at abusing authority to harm their political enemies than Trump, and they live for it.
FOX, Hannity, Levin, Shapiro and Carlson, etc. are eager to garner ratings by trading in hate, racism, slander and false conspiracies. They knowingly sell out their country to make themselves rich and powerful and the truth has absolutely no place in a machine like that, no matter how many times it rears its head. They spin it so much you need a flow chart to keep track of it. In five minutes, Trump will not have said it. Ten minutes and he was joking. Fifteen and it was the Democrats who made him say it, especially that black one. Tonight, FOX will have headlines about how Seth Rich was involved.
The truth, however, is that no one has done a better job of exposing the fraudulent Trump than Joe and those who can’t refute what he says are now resorting to personal insults and outright threats, which these propagandist media types willing and blatantly promote.
The whole issue of Trump being a “liar” is a matter of definitions. As I understand it a “liar” has to be aware of the falsity of his statements and make them knowingly. There is ample evidence that Trump simply doesn’t care about the accuracy of any statement he makes. Is the label “liar” worth the potentially unending arguments of motivation and definition?
Trump apparently this morning asserting the authority to “insure accuracy in Social Media”(?) This by itself is absurd; but mirrors the arguments just a few days ago to insure accuracy in Trump’s tweets. My point, Mr. Boehlert, is to be wary of regulation as it can cut both ways.
Ms. Wheeler, Not trying to be snarky but wanting an answer.
Do you not see an intent to deceive to be part of a "lie"? Isn't that the difference between making a "mistake" and a "lie?
With Trump, I assert, that he just says whatever pops into his head at any given moment. Boasting about missile specs to the Russian Ambassador? Check. Talking about his sexual conquests? Check. Asking if ingesting cleaning solvents might cure COVID? Check.
Trump is so "random", so unconnected to reality, so much the Magic 8 Ball of politics, that no one in his right mind gives his statements any credence. Thus he lacks the "ability" to deceive. And that's a key element in the definition of "lie".
Now, the scary part is that this takes Trump fairly far down the road to insane. I'm not sure that's an improvement.
Trump has bragged being a liar as far back as “The Art of the Deal”. He called it “truthful hyperbole”. It is a time honored tactic of Trump’s. (Clearly he knew He may believe some of what he says but he clearly knows a lot of what he says is a lie. He has routinely lied about things like the number of stories in some of his buildings.
Wow! I missed that story about the White House photographer. The media often acts like a bully and now they are cowering because they have met an even bigger bully who isn’t afraid of them.
Their hypocrisy is stunning.
As for the Scarborough murder accusation how can the media be shocked? They know that the Republicans conducted multiple investigations of the insane lie that the Clintons murdered one of their closest friends, Vince Foster. They spent millions of our tax collars on those cruel investigations. The highlight of their insanity was Congressman Dan Burton shooting melons in his backyard to get forensic evidence that Foster couldn’t have committed suicide.
When Kavanaugh was being vetted for the Supreme Court the fact that he was one of the people guilty of this despicable behavior should have gotten more attention:
“ For months, his inquiries callously harassed a grieving family and Mr. Foster’s friends. His office spread malicious sexual innuendo about Hillary Clinton, whom he seems to have regarded as prey. By reopening a closed investigation, he irresponsibly gave the Foster conspiracy freaks credibility to continue smearing the Clintons and poison public debate for another three years, all at the taxpayers’ expense.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/why-was-kavanaugh-obsessed-with-vince-foster.html
Now they media is shocked? Color me skeptical.
yeah that Obama example is pretty amazing. DC press took immediate collective action when they felt tiniest slight from Obama WH
The Bloomberg article is outstanding. That so few in the media (anybody else really?) grasp that is terrifying.
it is a great piece. sadly, my hunch is that lots of people in the media *do* grasp what's going on. they're just too afraid to say the GOP president is an authoritarian
This has been the Republican playbook since Bush 1 and these partisan liars have gained a pipeline for their fabrications directly into the mainstream. Breitbart, OAN, Reddit and, even worse corners of the internet, throw out complete fantasies and too much of the media gets suckered into addressing it. Even Trumpism started with the ridiculous conspiracy theory that Obama was born in a country that didn’t even actually officially exist when he was born.
But so it is, from Vince Foster to Seth Rich to Burisma to Tara Reade to this staffer, the Republican Party is built on a bunch of conspiracy theories, and the rage that flows through their veins is manufactured right here by the local rightist media network. Chaos is a ladder for them, and Trump their greatest drive, because no one is better at abusing authority to harm their political enemies than Trump, and they live for it.
FOX, Hannity, Levin, Shapiro and Carlson, etc. are eager to garner ratings by trading in hate, racism, slander and false conspiracies. They knowingly sell out their country to make themselves rich and powerful and the truth has absolutely no place in a machine like that, no matter how many times it rears its head. They spin it so much you need a flow chart to keep track of it. In five minutes, Trump will not have said it. Ten minutes and he was joking. Fifteen and it was the Democrats who made him say it, especially that black one. Tonight, FOX will have headlines about how Seth Rich was involved.
The truth, however, is that no one has done a better job of exposing the fraudulent Trump than Joe and those who can’t refute what he says are now resorting to personal insults and outright threats, which these propagandist media types willing and blatantly promote.
The whole issue of Trump being a “liar” is a matter of definitions. As I understand it a “liar” has to be aware of the falsity of his statements and make them knowingly. There is ample evidence that Trump simply doesn’t care about the accuracy of any statement he makes. Is the label “liar” worth the potentially unending arguments of motivation and definition?
Trump apparently this morning asserting the authority to “insure accuracy in Social Media”(?) This by itself is absurd; but mirrors the arguments just a few days ago to insure accuracy in Trump’s tweets. My point, Mr. Boehlert, is to be wary of regulation as it can cut both ways.
trump has told dole lies 60, 70 times (re: the border wall for instance) it’s just possible possible he’s misinformed
*told some lies
That may be a first. I have never actually heard anyone attempt to spin the definition of a 'lie'.
Ms. Wheeler, Not trying to be snarky but wanting an answer.
Do you not see an intent to deceive to be part of a "lie"? Isn't that the difference between making a "mistake" and a "lie?
With Trump, I assert, that he just says whatever pops into his head at any given moment. Boasting about missile specs to the Russian Ambassador? Check. Talking about his sexual conquests? Check. Asking if ingesting cleaning solvents might cure COVID? Check.
Trump is so "random", so unconnected to reality, so much the Magic 8 Ball of politics, that no one in his right mind gives his statements any credence. Thus he lacks the "ability" to deceive. And that's a key element in the definition of "lie".
Now, the scary part is that this takes Trump fairly far down the road to insane. I'm not sure that's an improvement.
Trump has bragged being a liar as far back as “The Art of the Deal”. He called it “truthful hyperbole”. It is a time honored tactic of Trump’s. (Clearly he knew He may believe some of what he says but he clearly knows a lot of what he says is a lie. He has routinely lied about things like the number of stories in some of his buildings.