Good evening Tom, and all. I have Krugman's Op Ed Tabbed on my screen and need to read it. I wrote to NYT again, forwarding Jeff Tiedrich's Sub from yesterday morning. This is some of what I have to say on this subject :
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Who's side are you on? Democracy or tyranny? You have done everything you could to demean Joe Biden over the past three years. You acknowledged receiving the Robert Hubble Substack I forwarded to you on Feb. 5, but have not responded. I know you are busy, but this one by Jeff Tiedrich is speaking to YOU. Does the First Amendment mean anything to you anymore? Are you comfortable with the threat to the free press? You have to stop carrying water for Putin and advocate for our Constitution and the American people. The threat is real. It is your responsibility to keep our nation informed of this danger. The absolute political smear of the Hur report? Do you accept without question all the speculative lies within it and those of the Trump cohorts? The story that you missed was that our president was on the phone to many world leaders, as well as leaders of the US military, constantly since the Hamas attack on October 7, within the previous twenty-four hours and he made time to meet with special counsel Hur while juggling world affairs so fast that anyone else's head would spin, but not our president. You missed that story and published hit pieces on your front page instead.
Its business, business demands returns, returns depend upon reader engagement from both sides. Alienating one side cuts your engagement significantly. The Financial gurus at the Times care not about integrity or even their long term loss of the First Amendment, its all about their P&L statement
So I guess you saw what one of CNN's show was about yesterday...all Biden's age...seems to me there are plenty of accomplishments they could be reporting on. The media in these past few years has collectively become almost as bad as Trump himself. Hyping idiotic themes and not following anything that really matters.
As I recall (I'm Biden's age, so give me a break, will ya?), Hur was the individual Trump agreed (or wante) to be the Special Prosecutor. I seem to recall that there were three names put forth to Garland. Am I mistaken?
We who love our democracy cannot let the GOP battering rams batter us down. There are so many people and organizations working very hard to get out the blue vote in November, and we can’t sit by idly and wring our hands. Whatever we can do we must do. We don’t have to be soldiers freezing on a battlefield, we just have to take up different arms.
Today Jessica Craven published a list of some of the organizations she believes are worth supporting. I’ll come back in the morning with a link to that list.
Robert Hubbell, whom Tom knows, refuses to give up. Read his Substack every day for ideas of how you can engage in this battle. The odds seem to grow worse by the day, but we must stiffen our resolve, not throw in the towel so many months before the election.
We must and we can defeat the Comeys and Hurs and all the radicalized far right people who would destroy this precious democracy. Please let’s not give up.
Jessica is hard to keep up with,( she moves so FAST!) but she gives so many choices, you have no excuse to not be involved. She is great and she takes the time to engage with her readers. Robert is another solid one.
As I wrote elsewhere, trending on Threads yesterday was cancelthenytimes. Literally hundreds reported that they were canceling, many lifelong subscribers. I have a sneaking feeling that a lot of us old hippies are savvy enough to spot a con when we see one...whether it is a clown slathered in orange makeup or a "journalist" working as a Russian asset. It appears that Putin has played the NYT really well and his agents are having a field day. Sorry for the snark. BTW, O'Donnell was fierce tonight.
Canceling a subscription is a nice way to get a small sugar high of self-righteousness. They don't lose anything from the action. I'll continue to read it to refute it. And to republish things like Dr. Krugman's article.
Fierce he was Ellen. Us old hippies can see through the smoke pretty well too. Like I kept my Substack of Steve Schmidt to keep an eye on him, I think I will continue the NYT for the same reason, and to hit them with letter after letter, like the one above.
Krugman nailed it, but The Times actually published my comment:
The problem that Krugman doesn't address is that the so-called political reporters and editors at the newspaper for which he writes are guilty under Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution of abetting treason through the assistance they regularly have given to Donald Trump.
Senators Tim Kaine & Marco Rubion have already outflanked Wreck by sponsoring & got a bill passed that prevents any President from withdrawing from NATO.
Wreck's has garbled both his set-up & attack lines. NATO members do NOT pay anything directly to NATO much less the US for their own defense responsibilities. The Finns are capable defenders historically & Helsinki is hardscaped. Finland is prepared for the next Russian attack now.
The Scandinavian countries pay MORE than other members of their budgets for their own defense,.With two (2) new Scandinavian members the US comparative ranking around Number fourteen (14) will sink further.
The NATO nations are providing Ukraine with "reliable" assistance because they know Putin. They are also buying up US produced planes, drones, and missiles in record numbers, which is what the 2% of GDP is all about, the amount they invest in their own defense, including pay for their military personnel. (Note: Ukraine has 200 companies producing their own drones. US companies should be looking to partner with them and consolidating operations. I think this will happen.)
That is so true. Years ago I was faced with one of those moral dilemmas that no one wants to face. I had absolutely no recall of what action I took. Until 44 years later, someone I totally trusted asked me why I Did it. I was shocked that I had no memory of the action, but knew what he said was true. I would have said that I could never “forget” something like that. But my unconscious solved the problem for me. Yep, forgetting comes from so much more than age. A complicated process that is just being studied. Years ago, a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell addressed the issue of people “misremembering” details of events. He referred to Brian Williams, if memory serves.
Good to read Prof. Krugman again. I read him religiously until NYT set up its pay wall. I know it’s contrary to Tom’s advice but I just can’t bring myself to pay up there.
I’ve found myself feeling somewhat anxious after seeing the media’s response to the Hur report and the lack of response to Trump’s unbelievable invitation to Putin to start WWIII and promise to sit it out. It’s the sort of thing that makes your stomach tense up. Tom’s analysis of the motivations for the press, published a few days ago, seemed fearfully on point; if he’s got it right, there’s little we can do about motivating the press to do differently.
Living in California there’s little I can do because the state is definitely going blue this November. But I wouldn’t mind practical suggestions on what I might do to help in Pennsylvania, or some other swing state.
If you really want to get upset, read "progressive" publications like The New Republic, where Walter Shapiro has a big article today about "Joe Biden's Historically Selfish Decision To Run For Re-election." The Knickers Always In A Knot Caucus is in full cry throughout the Democratic side.
Here is just one example of what you can do to help in Pennsylvania. The special election there is today, but there are many such organizations fighting to get out the vote throughout the country.
Mr. Krugman speaks for how I've been feeling. I have a lot of faith in Biden, and I know what the right choice is for the country. But this fuss about his age, and memory, drummed up by the media, feels like something very difficult to fight against. It's like trying to argue with someone who believes with all his heart that zombies are coming to get him.
It's scary now, but the election is months off, and a lot can happen between then and now. There will be more proof that Biden has the skills to lead us, and plenty more proof that tfg is completely losing it and is a dangerous imbecile. We just have to keep working and sharing the truth with the people around us.
I’m urging everyone to write letters to the editors of your local papers if you’re still lucky enough to have them, and to other outlets. It’s people who don’t subscribe to the NYT and WaPo that need to hear this, too. Vote for the sane guy and stop with the unfair horse race.
I am Concerned as well. Have been for years. The repubs have lone wolf attack cretins everywhere. In every profession, in every walk of life; with trolls, spoilers, and angry militia types everywhere I turn these days. They are snipers with Joe in their sights all day, every day. I’ve never seen a major political party so aligned with evil. I get Krugman’s articles. Thank you for spreading the word.
By all rights Biden should be ahead by 10-15 points on his record alone. But the media wants a horse race, and will do everything in their power to create it.
I have never forgotten the Lester Moonvies quote about Trump: "He's terrible for the country but great for our bottom line." This is what it's about. Boring old Joe doesn't create clicks like Trump did.
Yes, our nation is in a dire situation and it’s appalling that Trump is getting a pass on his incessant childish bullying. It’s also frustrating to watch the courts let him get away with his delay tactics. We’re all in so much trouble if he wins in November.
I am a great admirer of Dr. Krugman, and everything he says in this piece resonates with me. I am so sick of the slanted, ageist coverage against Biden. But I'm not in despair over the election because I'm also in touch with the countercurrent of rage about abortion: it's deeper and wider than many realize, it's building in force while the GOP keeps doubling down on abortion bans, including travel bans for pregnant women (check Texas, Alabama, and my dear home state of Idaho) — and it's heading for DJT in November.
Good evening Tom, and all. I have Krugman's Op Ed Tabbed on my screen and need to read it. I wrote to NYT again, forwarding Jeff Tiedrich's Sub from yesterday morning. This is some of what I have to say on this subject :
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Who's side are you on? Democracy or tyranny? You have done everything you could to demean Joe Biden over the past three years. You acknowledged receiving the Robert Hubble Substack I forwarded to you on Feb. 5, but have not responded. I know you are busy, but this one by Jeff Tiedrich is speaking to YOU. Does the First Amendment mean anything to you anymore? Are you comfortable with the threat to the free press? You have to stop carrying water for Putin and advocate for our Constitution and the American people. The threat is real. It is your responsibility to keep our nation informed of this danger. The absolute political smear of the Hur report? Do you accept without question all the speculative lies within it and those of the Trump cohorts? The story that you missed was that our president was on the phone to many world leaders, as well as leaders of the US military, constantly since the Hamas attack on October 7, within the previous twenty-four hours and he made time to meet with special counsel Hur while juggling world affairs so fast that anyone else's head would spin, but not our president. You missed that story and published hit pieces on your front page instead.
SHAME ON YOU.
Sincerely,
Ransom Rideout
Altadena, CA
A paid Subscriber
And there, for the benefit of everyone else, is the reason to be a paid subscriber. They have to pay attention.
EXACTLY! That is why I put it there.
“They have to pay attention”
Except when they don’t
Its business, business demands returns, returns depend upon reader engagement from both sides. Alienating one side cuts your engagement significantly. The Financial gurus at the Times care not about integrity or even their long term loss of the First Amendment, its all about their P&L statement
Thank you. We all must hold the media’s feet to the fire.
Thanks, Ransom. I’m still a NYT subscriber and need to start putting PAID subscriber when I write them,
💙 this today in NYT by Jamelle Bouie. Especially the headline ! “ TRUMP IS LOSING IT “
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/13/opinion/trump-campaign-biden-aging.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VE0.7doX.P8vkPzVase0K&smid=url-share
Just saw that they got my money today. They will get my opinion tonight
So I guess you saw what one of CNN's show was about yesterday...all Biden's age...seems to me there are plenty of accomplishments they could be reporting on. The media in these past few years has collectively become almost as bad as Trump himself. Hyping idiotic themes and not following anything that really matters.
I can't watch CNN since they went over the edge. Ratings is not news, it's money. Just another car chase.
Following Rupert down the money hole. He and Fox were bad enough, but to see how MSM is slurping at the trough to catch up with Fox is sickening.
As I recall (I'm Biden's age, so give me a break, will ya?), Hur was the individual Trump agreed (or wante) to be the Special Prosecutor. I seem to recall that there were three names put forth to Garland. Am I mistaken?
I like a president who's not Putin's bitch
Trumputin.
We who love our democracy cannot let the GOP battering rams batter us down. There are so many people and organizations working very hard to get out the blue vote in November, and we can’t sit by idly and wring our hands. Whatever we can do we must do. We don’t have to be soldiers freezing on a battlefield, we just have to take up different arms.
Today Jessica Craven published a list of some of the organizations she believes are worth supporting. I’ll come back in the morning with a link to that list.
Robert Hubbell, whom Tom knows, refuses to give up. Read his Substack every day for ideas of how you can engage in this battle. The odds seem to grow worse by the day, but we must stiffen our resolve, not throw in the towel so many months before the election.
We must and we can defeat the Comeys and Hurs and all the radicalized far right people who would destroy this precious democracy. Please let’s not give up.
Jessica is hard to keep up with,( she moves so FAST!) but she gives so many choices, you have no excuse to not be involved. She is great and she takes the time to engage with her readers. Robert is another solid one.
Ring = wring.
I’ll fix it in the morning. I cannot from my iPhone
We got it.
Right, but I'm an editor/proofreader, and it was tough not to be able to self-edit that from my iPhone last night. I just fixed it.
Here's the link Jess posted:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13pvzT4gB7FK7n0O_3p6_ymrBaSIlpB3YbkuZCjNXGKw/edit?fbclid=IwAR2MxuEsowLBitQJ3Z3pxbGBk9cW4j9Ly5el78IvFCvgVck7AtG1fyHkXSY
As I wrote elsewhere, trending on Threads yesterday was cancelthenytimes. Literally hundreds reported that they were canceling, many lifelong subscribers. I have a sneaking feeling that a lot of us old hippies are savvy enough to spot a con when we see one...whether it is a clown slathered in orange makeup or a "journalist" working as a Russian asset. It appears that Putin has played the NYT really well and his agents are having a field day. Sorry for the snark. BTW, O'Donnell was fierce tonight.
Lawrence definitely was fierce.
Canceling a subscription is a nice way to get a small sugar high of self-righteousness. They don't lose anything from the action. I'll continue to read it to refute it. And to republish things like Dr. Krugman's article.
Thank You.
Fierce he was Ellen. Us old hippies can see through the smoke pretty well too. Like I kept my Substack of Steve Schmidt to keep an eye on him, I think I will continue the NYT for the same reason, and to hit them with letter after letter, like the one above.
what's old Talk The Talk But Don't Walk The Walk up to these days?
? Is that like back in the day at 11:30 PM and you gotta go out for icecream and can't remember what joint is open?
Yes, what you said Ellen. And thanks for the O'Donnell tip. Will watch. (P.S. canceled my NY Times a year ago).
FIERCE!! Thank You, Ellen!
Krugman nailed it, but The Times actually published my comment:
The problem that Krugman doesn't address is that the so-called political reporters and editors at the newspaper for which he writes are guilty under Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution of abetting treason through the assistance they regularly have given to Donald Trump.
Wow.
Is your comment still published?
Still there, but I find it interesting that only "three" recommend it, so I wonder if they are up to something.
Given what one sees from most of the "regular commentators" there, that really doesn't surprise me.
Senators Tim Kaine & Marco Rubion have already outflanked Wreck by sponsoring & got a bill passed that prevents any President from withdrawing from NATO.
Wreck's has garbled both his set-up & attack lines. NATO members do NOT pay anything directly to NATO much less the US for their own defense responsibilities. The Finns are capable defenders historically & Helsinki is hardscaped. Finland is prepared for the next Russian attack now.
The Scandinavian countries pay MORE than other members of their budgets for their own defense,.With two (2) new Scandinavian members the US comparative ranking around Number fourteen (14) will sink further.
Just parse the arse.
The Arse nose not wat he farts. And his base is so ignorant, they will believe it anyway.
The NATO nations are providing Ukraine with "reliable" assistance because they know Putin. They are also buying up US produced planes, drones, and missiles in record numbers, which is what the 2% of GDP is all about, the amount they invest in their own defense, including pay for their military personnel. (Note: Ukraine has 200 companies producing their own drones. US companies should be looking to partner with them and consolidating operations. I think this will happen.)
Here’s a neurologist explaining about forgetting and how everyone does it. Hope the NYT reporters read it. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/opinion/neuroscientist-on-biden-age-memory.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VE0.2LSr.b7y6nR9IbeYs&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleSharei
That is so true. Years ago I was faced with one of those moral dilemmas that no one wants to face. I had absolutely no recall of what action I took. Until 44 years later, someone I totally trusted asked me why I Did it. I was shocked that I had no memory of the action, but knew what he said was true. I would have said that I could never “forget” something like that. But my unconscious solved the problem for me. Yep, forgetting comes from so much more than age. A complicated process that is just being studied. Years ago, a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell addressed the issue of people “misremembering” details of events. He referred to Brian Williams, if memory serves.
Thank You, Gigi. Excellent.
Thank you for a very informative article. I learned helpful information from it!
Great article! Thanks
Good to read Prof. Krugman again. I read him religiously until NYT set up its pay wall. I know it’s contrary to Tom’s advice but I just can’t bring myself to pay up there.
I’ve found myself feeling somewhat anxious after seeing the media’s response to the Hur report and the lack of response to Trump’s unbelievable invitation to Putin to start WWIII and promise to sit it out. It’s the sort of thing that makes your stomach tense up. Tom’s analysis of the motivations for the press, published a few days ago, seemed fearfully on point; if he’s got it right, there’s little we can do about motivating the press to do differently.
Living in California there’s little I can do because the state is definitely going blue this November. But I wouldn’t mind practical suggestions on what I might do to help in Pennsylvania, or some other swing state.
If you really want to get upset, read "progressive" publications like The New Republic, where Walter Shapiro has a big article today about "Joe Biden's Historically Selfish Decision To Run For Re-election." The Knickers Always In A Knot Caucus is in full cry throughout the Democratic side.
Sheesh. Brian Beutler has been on a tear, too, it seems.
Yep. The Knickers In A Permanent Knot Caucus is a big 'un.
Upsets me more than the MAGAts.
Here is just one example of what you can do to help in Pennsylvania. The special election there is today, but there are many such organizations fighting to get out the vote throughout the country.
https://www.mobilize.us/theunion/event/597485/
Thank you!!!
Jessica Craven, of "Chop Wood, Carry Water" (https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com), has a helpful doc describing high-value, high-impact donor opportunities:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13pvzT4gB7FK7n0O_3p6_ymrBaSIlpB3YbkuZCjNXGKw/edit
Help for Texas welcome, but the red is deep.
Mr. Krugman speaks for how I've been feeling. I have a lot of faith in Biden, and I know what the right choice is for the country. But this fuss about his age, and memory, drummed up by the media, feels like something very difficult to fight against. It's like trying to argue with someone who believes with all his heart that zombies are coming to get him.
It's scary now, but the election is months off, and a lot can happen between then and now. There will be more proof that Biden has the skills to lead us, and plenty more proof that tfg is completely losing it and is a dangerous imbecile. We just have to keep working and sharing the truth with the people around us.
I’m urging everyone to write letters to the editors of your local papers if you’re still lucky enough to have them, and to other outlets. It’s people who don’t subscribe to the NYT and WaPo that need to hear this, too. Vote for the sane guy and stop with the unfair horse race.
I am Concerned as well. Have been for years. The repubs have lone wolf attack cretins everywhere. In every profession, in every walk of life; with trolls, spoilers, and angry militia types everywhere I turn these days. They are snipers with Joe in their sights all day, every day. I’ve never seen a major political party so aligned with evil. I get Krugman’s articles. Thank you for spreading the word.
I'll keep my Times and WaPo for now, to keep an eye on
them, relentlessly comment
on their articles and write
emails to their editors and
writers.
By all rights Biden should be ahead by 10-15 points on his record alone. But the media wants a horse race, and will do everything in their power to create it.
I have never forgotten the Lester Moonvies quote about Trump: "He's terrible for the country but great for our bottom line." This is what it's about. Boring old Joe doesn't create clicks like Trump did.
More need to be sent to the same black hole that Moonvies is occupying these days.
Yes, our nation is in a dire situation and it’s appalling that Trump is getting a pass on his incessant childish bullying. It’s also frustrating to watch the courts let him get away with his delay tactics. We’re all in so much trouble if he wins in November.
I am a great admirer of Dr. Krugman, and everything he says in this piece resonates with me. I am so sick of the slanted, ageist coverage against Biden. But I'm not in despair over the election because I'm also in touch with the countercurrent of rage about abortion: it's deeper and wider than many realize, it's building in force while the GOP keeps doubling down on abortion bans, including travel bans for pregnant women (check Texas, Alabama, and my dear home state of Idaho) — and it's heading for DJT in November.
Thank-you for sharing this piece. As someone recently said-Both of them are old but only one of them is evil.