I have a theory about the so-called silence of JD. I think he and Stephen Miller and a host of incel lawyers of their ilk have been holed up down at MAL churning out hundreds (or thousands) of EO's which will be produced immediately after the inauguration for the infamous sharpie scrawl.
America, watch out because the 💩is going to fly immediately after the bereavement ceremony (oops, inauguration). (I still can't believe that Americans voted for what's to come. . . . 🫠)
I do appreciate that so many recent news stories include the same photo - the one where he looks like an exhausted, aged, sickly old Oompa Loompa... could there be a more unattractive photo? It makes me gag every time, but I'm glad it's being widely distributed. He looks like someone who's deteriorating from the inside out.
(202) 224-3121. The Capitol Hill Switchboard still in service. Talk to any senator or rep.
Is anyone besides Tom starting to get annoyed? Watch Rachel Maddow’s take on the proposed IRS commissioner, who is a major tax cheat and encouraged Dems to show some indignation. The most crooked administration ever should not be certified tomorrow!
About Ann Telnaes ... In 1952, Phil Graham ordered the endorsement of Dwight Eisenhower. His editorial page staff and his wife disagreed. And for two weeks before the election, he didn't publish Herblock because of what he was doing to the ticket of Ike and The Previous Dick in the White House. The difference here is that I will guarantee that Bezos didn't even know. The opinion editor, David Shipley, caved. And one of his predecessors, Russ Wiggins, is the one who told his successor in charge of the news side, Ben Bradlee, "Always edit with your hat on," because you may need to defy the publisher. Telnaes is a noble figure in this. Anyone still employed there isn't.
People have talked about the departures of some "star" reporters, including Ashley Parker, who went to The Atlantic. She helped enable president-elect Felon Muck and his treasonous orange dementia patient of a lackey. And so it goes.
That’s the Ashley Parker whose live comments to MSNBC’s Brian Williams regarding President Biden’s remarks on Afghanistan withdrawal was stunningly disrespectful. Unsubscribed that moment. Only regret is can’t keep unsubscribing as WAPO keeps sinking lower. She’s now with The Atlantic? Well that guarantees I’ll never resubscribe to the mag.
Fortunately, at the Atlantic, you can completely ignore her stuff. There's good reason to keep the rest if you already subscribed. We don't need to feel all righteous by cutting off our nose to spite our faces.
Well, in both cases, I had to consider what else they had. For every Ashley Parker or Dan Balz at the post, there's E.J. Dionne and Eugene Robinson, and some very good reporters. The Atlantic is a similar situation. It's like The New York Times, which does some wonderful work, not to be confused with the new york times, for which The Habes serves as court stenographer.
There are still small subversive things we can do to keep resistance visible. When the funeral for the America that committed suicide takes place on 1/20 I will eschew all media and will keep my flag at "half staff" for probably the remainder of my life because the magas have demonstrated like tardigrades that they can remain asleep without being dead for eons. I will continue with my other surreptitious small gestures because I will not live under the heel of man's worst impulses coagulated inside an ill-fitting suit and a red cap.
The whole cartoon brouhaha has started me wondering a possibly heretical thought. It is a commonplace that one of the weapons a strongman uses to solidify his power is mistrust of institutions, including the press. Yuval Noah Harari goes into this at at length in his book Nexus.
The heretical thought is, to what extent are the liberals participating in this mistrust of the press, and playing inadvertently into trump's agenda? How much should we abandon support of the press because of political disagreements on one, albeit important, point? Or is it more important to support that press while criticizing those stances we disagree with--the classic political dialogue that marks the ideal of democracy?
I don't watch TV news, cable or network, so I can't speak to what IT does or how trustworthy it is.
But both the NYT and the WaPo have many stories that have nothing to do with trump and aren't really widely covered elsewhere. The situation in Sudan and Somalia and of the rising right wing tendency in so many European democracies are examples; issues like immigration (and the problems of mass deportation). Both papers have had telling stories on the background of the Middle Eastern crisis, including dives into the apartheid that Israel has practiced for basically forever. There is extensive coverage that is not remotely right wing on Ukraine. On climate change. On police misbehavior. On health issues.
The first question: Can we just dismiss the Post's explanation of the spiking of the cartoon and assume it is a lie? From the editor who made the decision:
"My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column – this one a satire – for publication." Isn't such an assumption that he’s lying simply a manifestation of that very distrust that trump has repeated ad nauseum about Fake News.
I am as distressed as any about the false equivalency that went on during the campaign. But I don't see much of that false equivalency in articles actually addressing the kinds of things that outrage us about Project 2025. Outside the occasional op ed, neither paper trumpets trump lies as if they were truth.
The Second Question: Do we know that Bezos himself in any way influenced the editor's decision about the cartoon? Or are we looking at dots-- Bezos is rich; Bezos is making nice with trump; Bezos owns the WaPo-- and then connecting them to a conclusion that the WaPo supports the trump agenda and should be ignored? There is really nothing going on with either the NYT or WaPo owners comparable to the overt turning of the Los Angeles Times towards being a branch of Faux News. Not to mention the fulminations of Faux itself. Isn't connecting dots one of the things that critical thinking tells us to be vastly skeptical about?
I've stuck with my subscriptions to both because I find much to admire in both papers and I can express my disapproval by means of comments or letters to the editor, both of which I frequently do. There was some evidence during the campaign that objections to "false equivalence" headlines resulted in CHANGES to the headlines. We are not passive consumers of news: our job as citizens is to react to it, not to signal our virtue by abandoning the attempt to try to make our own voices heard as corrections to what we have read addressed TO those who said the thing we disagree with. That’s what dialogue is.
Like it or not, the MSM (at least of the print/pixel variety) has resources no Substacker has, to dig into the many concerns of our society beyond the purely political. We NEED to see the results of the application of those resources in order to see what evidence there is on those concerns. Just take a look at the "investigations" tab on the WaPo Home Page (you can do that even if you've cancelled) to see what I mean, not to mention the sections on the issues I mentioned earlier.
Again, the heresy. Are we throwing the fabled baby out with the equally fabled bathwater by just assuming that everything MSM does is corrupt? Isn't that exactly what trump is telling us: that it is all Fake News? And if we begin to believe that, what press institution has the hope of restraining the strongman?
Remember this ?⬇️ It will be interesting see if 😡 issues an order to raise the flags after inauguration. NOT a good look.Although I read a Nassau Cty,N.Y. GOP official refused to lower flags for President Carter.They.just.don’t.care.
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Glowering in public and near-silent for two days, President Donald Trump relented under pressure Monday by tersely recognizing Sen. John McCain’s “service to our country” and re-lowering the White House flag.”
Trump is the poster man-baby of every repulsive human trait or impulse that could possibly exist or be nurtured by evil intent. Even his whining self-pitying excesses are repulsive and unbelievably oblivious. It's hard to even read about his incredibly stupid whiny postings without getting nauseous.
Speaking of Jack Smith, where is his final report??? Hope Marrick Garland hasn't gotten his hands on it because, given his hapless inability to apply Justice instead of defend Justice, the report may never see the light of day!
Oh, and I'm guessing the shittiest president of all time will proclaim that the American flag can only be lowered to half "mast" (what a schmuck) upon HIS death since, in his pea-brain, no other president deserves such a tribute. You know, I'd support this change if we could apply this new procedure immediately after he signs the proclamation!!!
Cartoonist censored for
drawing the truth. That's a
great cartoon too. Do we really need a Melanoma Trump documentary?🤮
Do we really need most of what media of all sorts gives us?
I have a theory about the so-called silence of JD. I think he and Stephen Miller and a host of incel lawyers of their ilk have been holed up down at MAL churning out hundreds (or thousands) of EO's which will be produced immediately after the inauguration for the infamous sharpie scrawl.
I wouldn't bet against you.
I think Peter Thiel is keeping him out of the limelight so that they have him ready when the Amendment 25 situation presents itself.
Ellen, you are 100% right.
America, watch out because the 💩is going to fly immediately after the bereavement ceremony (oops, inauguration). (I still can't believe that Americans voted for what's to come. . . . 🫠)
I do appreciate that so many recent news stories include the same photo - the one where he looks like an exhausted, aged, sickly old Oompa Loompa... could there be a more unattractive photo? It makes me gag every time, but I'm glad it's being widely distributed. He looks like someone who's deteriorating from the inside out.
The country is about to be run by the organized crime gang of #45.
I like what you said Jenn, and hate that it’s true. Substack needs a button for that. 🤮🎃💔💩💔🤡🤮
(202) 224-3121. The Capitol Hill Switchboard still in service. Talk to any senator or rep.
Is anyone besides Tom starting to get annoyed? Watch Rachel Maddow’s take on the proposed IRS commissioner, who is a major tax cheat and encouraged Dems to show some indignation. The most crooked administration ever should not be certified tomorrow!
About Ann Telnaes ... In 1952, Phil Graham ordered the endorsement of Dwight Eisenhower. His editorial page staff and his wife disagreed. And for two weeks before the election, he didn't publish Herblock because of what he was doing to the ticket of Ike and The Previous Dick in the White House. The difference here is that I will guarantee that Bezos didn't even know. The opinion editor, David Shipley, caved. And one of his predecessors, Russ Wiggins, is the one who told his successor in charge of the news side, Ben Bradlee, "Always edit with your hat on," because you may need to defy the publisher. Telnaes is a noble figure in this. Anyone still employed there isn't.
People have talked about the departures of some "star" reporters, including Ashley Parker, who went to The Atlantic. She helped enable president-elect Felon Muck and his treasonous orange dementia patient of a lackey. And so it goes.
That’s the Ashley Parker whose live comments to MSNBC’s Brian Williams regarding President Biden’s remarks on Afghanistan withdrawal was stunningly disrespectful. Unsubscribed that moment. Only regret is can’t keep unsubscribing as WAPO keeps sinking lower. She’s now with The Atlantic? Well that guarantees I’ll never resubscribe to the mag.
Fortunately, at the Atlantic, you can completely ignore her stuff. There's good reason to keep the rest if you already subscribed. We don't need to feel all righteous by cutting off our nose to spite our faces.
Well, in both cases, I had to consider what else they had. For every Ashley Parker or Dan Balz at the post, there's E.J. Dionne and Eugene Robinson, and some very good reporters. The Atlantic is a similar situation. It's like The New York Times, which does some wonderful work, not to be confused with the new york times, for which The Habes serves as court stenographer.
I still unsubscribed the Sulzberger Sniper and the Bezos Bugle.
There are still small subversive things we can do to keep resistance visible. When the funeral for the America that committed suicide takes place on 1/20 I will eschew all media and will keep my flag at "half staff" for probably the remainder of my life because the magas have demonstrated like tardigrades that they can remain asleep without being dead for eons. I will continue with my other surreptitious small gestures because I will not live under the heel of man's worst impulses coagulated inside an ill-fitting suit and a red cap.
I will be flying my pirate flag on inauguration day, maybe longer.
Yes, because the White House will once again be filled with pirates and brigands who've commandeered the ship of state.
My first impression of the cartoon was that Mickey Mouse was dead and that tball had killed him to show the others what might happen to them.
He actually is.
How so?
Disney's been dead for 30 years that I am aware of.
Oh, that. Yeah. :D
Terrific, Tom! “What if they made a movie about Roy Cohn and everyone was afraid of a blacklist?”
The whole cartoon brouhaha has started me wondering a possibly heretical thought. It is a commonplace that one of the weapons a strongman uses to solidify his power is mistrust of institutions, including the press. Yuval Noah Harari goes into this at at length in his book Nexus.
The heretical thought is, to what extent are the liberals participating in this mistrust of the press, and playing inadvertently into trump's agenda? How much should we abandon support of the press because of political disagreements on one, albeit important, point? Or is it more important to support that press while criticizing those stances we disagree with--the classic political dialogue that marks the ideal of democracy?
I don't watch TV news, cable or network, so I can't speak to what IT does or how trustworthy it is.
But both the NYT and the WaPo have many stories that have nothing to do with trump and aren't really widely covered elsewhere. The situation in Sudan and Somalia and of the rising right wing tendency in so many European democracies are examples; issues like immigration (and the problems of mass deportation). Both papers have had telling stories on the background of the Middle Eastern crisis, including dives into the apartheid that Israel has practiced for basically forever. There is extensive coverage that is not remotely right wing on Ukraine. On climate change. On police misbehavior. On health issues.
The first question: Can we just dismiss the Post's explanation of the spiking of the cartoon and assume it is a lie? From the editor who made the decision:
"My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column – this one a satire – for publication." Isn't such an assumption that he’s lying simply a manifestation of that very distrust that trump has repeated ad nauseum about Fake News.
I am as distressed as any about the false equivalency that went on during the campaign. But I don't see much of that false equivalency in articles actually addressing the kinds of things that outrage us about Project 2025. Outside the occasional op ed, neither paper trumpets trump lies as if they were truth.
The Second Question: Do we know that Bezos himself in any way influenced the editor's decision about the cartoon? Or are we looking at dots-- Bezos is rich; Bezos is making nice with trump; Bezos owns the WaPo-- and then connecting them to a conclusion that the WaPo supports the trump agenda and should be ignored? There is really nothing going on with either the NYT or WaPo owners comparable to the overt turning of the Los Angeles Times towards being a branch of Faux News. Not to mention the fulminations of Faux itself. Isn't connecting dots one of the things that critical thinking tells us to be vastly skeptical about?
I've stuck with my subscriptions to both because I find much to admire in both papers and I can express my disapproval by means of comments or letters to the editor, both of which I frequently do. There was some evidence during the campaign that objections to "false equivalence" headlines resulted in CHANGES to the headlines. We are not passive consumers of news: our job as citizens is to react to it, not to signal our virtue by abandoning the attempt to try to make our own voices heard as corrections to what we have read addressed TO those who said the thing we disagree with. That’s what dialogue is.
Like it or not, the MSM (at least of the print/pixel variety) has resources no Substacker has, to dig into the many concerns of our society beyond the purely political. We NEED to see the results of the application of those resources in order to see what evidence there is on those concerns. Just take a look at the "investigations" tab on the WaPo Home Page (you can do that even if you've cancelled) to see what I mean, not to mention the sections on the issues I mentioned earlier.
Again, the heresy. Are we throwing the fabled baby out with the equally fabled bathwater by just assuming that everything MSM does is corrupt? Isn't that exactly what trump is telling us: that it is all Fake News? And if we begin to believe that, what press institution has the hope of restraining the strongman?
Thoughts well worth considering.
Good post TC. Thanks.
Remember this ?⬇️ It will be interesting see if 😡 issues an order to raise the flags after inauguration. NOT a good look.Although I read a Nassau Cty,N.Y. GOP official refused to lower flags for President Carter.They.just.don’t.care.
“WASHINGTON (AP) — Glowering in public and near-silent for two days, President Donald Trump relented under pressure Monday by tersely recognizing Sen. John McCain’s “service to our country” and re-lowering the White House flag.”
https://apnews.com/article/north-america-donald-trump-ap-top-news-az-state-wire-politics-f49d0e43bbaf455b94f9d834ffa9b6cc
Trump is the poster man-baby of every repulsive human trait or impulse that could possibly exist or be nurtured by evil intent. Even his whining self-pitying excesses are repulsive and unbelievably oblivious. It's hard to even read about his incredibly stupid whiny postings without getting nauseous.
Precisely why I don't read his stupid crap.
You are very wise!
You are the one who took the time to describe him so well. Me ? I am just a minor annoyance.
IS the producer an old client of Mellie's? Just wondering.
Boy, that Department of “Surprise Surprise” is in overdrive this week. Thanks for the summary!
Speaking of Jack Smith, where is his final report??? Hope Marrick Garland hasn't gotten his hands on it because, given his hapless inability to apply Justice instead of defend Justice, the report may never see the light of day!
Oh, and I'm guessing the shittiest president of all time will proclaim that the American flag can only be lowered to half "mast" (what a schmuck) upon HIS death since, in his pea-brain, no other president deserves such a tribute. You know, I'd support this change if we could apply this new procedure immediately after he signs the proclamation!!!
I'm saving this column. It's a good list of all the news I expect the trump administration to attempt to rewrite.