Over the weekend, the bipartisan group of Senators negotiating an immigration and border control bill came to agreement and released the bill’s language.
The NYTimes, WaPo, and WSJ will do both sides headlines with a grain of truth behind their paywalls for their echo chamber to do High 5's with each other, in the middle of 20 million people the LA Times is too busy laying off writers, and Kristen Welker will again be "shocked" that she did nothing to help the public understand jack squat about what's at risk here.
Robert Hubbell this morning castigated The New York Times, the Washington Post, and Welker and Kornacki:
""Shame on NBC and Kornacki! They are still covering Trump as if he is a 'horse' in a 'race'—a model they know is broken. And even if the model were not broken, they normalize Trump every time they reduce him to a polling number—rather than describing him as an existential threat to democracy! When this is over, Kristen Welker and Steve Kornacki will have to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves, 'What did I do when our nation needed clarity and truth?' [¶¶]
Got it? Trump gets 51% of the votes (or 56,260 votes) in Iowa and it is a 'decisive' victory. Biden gets 95% of the votes (or 126,321 votes) in South Carolina, and it is an 'uncertain' indicator of his future prospects! [¶¶]
By writing about the shiny objects fed to them in 2016 by right-wing FBI agents in the New York field office, the NYTimes, WSJ, and other major media outlets were carrying Trump's water. Or perhaps it was Putin’s water. Either way, they affected the course of the 2016 election.
They seem perilously close to repeating that mistake in 2024 by normalizing Trump as a legitimate candidate who can be reduced to a number on a polling chart. Every journalist who participates in that normalization of Trump will be complicit if Trump wins. [¶¶]
Newsflash to the editors of the NYTimes: It will be your problem if Trump is elected. He believes that the power of the president is absolute, and he has packed the Supreme Court with justices eager to do his bidding. If the editors at the Times believe that Trump will respect their rights under the First Amendment, they are bigger fools than they have already proven themselves to be.
The media is under no obligation to serve as Biden’s cheerleader. But as the above comparison of reporting on Trump's weak performance in Iowa and Biden’s commanding performance in South Carolina proves, the media inexplicably promotes Trump and undermines Biden. It makes no sense at time when the two men are surrogates for tyranny and democracy, respectively."
Robert nailed it. I forwarded the whole piece to 8 of the editorial staff at WaPo and to NYT editorial staff in general.
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Why does it appear so many times that your headline editor is a Russian Bot?
The forwarded Substack by the eminent Robert Hubble should give you pause, and hopefully you might reflect upon what your commitment to our Constitution and the democracy we love means to yourselves.
And on the next clear day, McConnell drops Senate support because "...the country has changed." We are in a very dark place where the fear we once thought improbable is real: A minority (of one) controls the border that is governance in a democracy. That minority closed our border. The asylum is secure.
Was listening to NPR this afternoon talk about the immigration bill and they were talking like it was all a policy difference. No mention of the statements of House GOPers saying they won’t give Biden a win. It was so frustrating I actually yelled at the radio. Which made me feel foolish because, of course, the damned thing only broadcasts in one direction. 🤦🏻♂️
I suspect Trump's other reason for not wanting the bill passed is that he wants all the help Putin's troll farm can give him, and he knows that to ensure that he has to prevent funding to Ukraine. It's about the border, but it's not just about the border.
If I could edit Biden's speeches I would have snipped out "I refuse to let that happen" because one of the repetitive disinformation themes is to claim Biden has powers he does not have then blame him for not using them. For example, they claim Biden could shut down the border right now if he wanted to, but according to The Big Picture and Jay Kuo "Johnson cited a provision called Section 212f, which he claimed already grants the president broad rights to curtail immigration. But Trump already attempted to restrict immigration back in 2018 under Section 212f, and he was shot down by the courts. An appellate panel found that such authority conflicts with existing asylum law, and that 212f cannot override that law". In fact, I highly recommend that article for anyone who has not read it yet: https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/biden-republicans-border-migrant-crisis?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1258230&post_id=141279836&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=3fufu&utm_medium=email
The Republicans are so tied to Trump and a failed ideology that they have no flexibility in dealing with events as they happen. They are about to hand Biden a huge message with which to smite them in November - "We gave the Republicans almost everything they wanted in the border bill and they still turned it down." And the Republicans will have no answer, because they would have to admit that Trump pulled the strings and made all the marionettes dance to his tune.....
"Napoleon observed at the Battle of Austerlitz, as he watched the Austrians tie themselves in knots, “Never interfere with an enemy who is defeating himself.”"
We can only hope that this tale of two bills will be historically significant in gaining support for democracy/Biden/sanity as was the win for Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz.
Thanks for a really "Divine" piece of political comedy. The Swamp has always had a rank odor, even back in the halcyon days of the "liberal consensus" when I served a House page during the Kennedy Administration, but the stink rising from the bowels of "The Immoral Minority," and especially from the "31 spineless Senate turds masquerading as senators" is so odiferous today it threatens to asphyxiate the Goddess of Justice as she reels in disbelief that Trump's fascist MAGA MORON movement, with plenty of help from FOX News, has brought the nation to this sad moment in history. Caligula's horse may be laughing at them, but we, the people, should be demanding that these traitors be arrested and prosecuted along with their malignant leader. Unfortunately, the response from the powers that be will most likely be another "nice" ineffectual "cheese plate."
Some day, this decision will be the one that whats left of the Republican Party will see as the clear nail in the coffin. They're going to figure out that this was the best chance they had, but they blew it. Before long, Democrats will have control of all three branches of government, and they will watch their opponents pass any bill or budget they want. I know the MAGA base is out there, cheating, but they won't succeed, we won't allow it.
And Senate republicans will fold like a bunch of $2 suitcases if anybody challenges them on this. Traitors, all of them.
The NYTimes, WaPo, and WSJ will do both sides headlines with a grain of truth behind their paywalls for their echo chamber to do High 5's with each other, in the middle of 20 million people the LA Times is too busy laying off writers, and Kristen Welker will again be "shocked" that she did nothing to help the public understand jack squat about what's at risk here.
Robert Hubbell this morning castigated The New York Times, the Washington Post, and Welker and Kornacki:
""Shame on NBC and Kornacki! They are still covering Trump as if he is a 'horse' in a 'race'—a model they know is broken. And even if the model were not broken, they normalize Trump every time they reduce him to a polling number—rather than describing him as an existential threat to democracy! When this is over, Kristen Welker and Steve Kornacki will have to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves, 'What did I do when our nation needed clarity and truth?' [¶¶]
Got it? Trump gets 51% of the votes (or 56,260 votes) in Iowa and it is a 'decisive' victory. Biden gets 95% of the votes (or 126,321 votes) in South Carolina, and it is an 'uncertain' indicator of his future prospects! [¶¶]
By writing about the shiny objects fed to them in 2016 by right-wing FBI agents in the New York field office, the NYTimes, WSJ, and other major media outlets were carrying Trump's water. Or perhaps it was Putin’s water. Either way, they affected the course of the 2016 election.
They seem perilously close to repeating that mistake in 2024 by normalizing Trump as a legitimate candidate who can be reduced to a number on a polling chart. Every journalist who participates in that normalization of Trump will be complicit if Trump wins. [¶¶]
Newsflash to the editors of the NYTimes: It will be your problem if Trump is elected. He believes that the power of the president is absolute, and he has packed the Supreme Court with justices eager to do his bidding. If the editors at the Times believe that Trump will respect their rights under the First Amendment, they are bigger fools than they have already proven themselves to be.
The media is under no obligation to serve as Biden’s cheerleader. But as the above comparison of reporting on Trump's weak performance in Iowa and Biden’s commanding performance in South Carolina proves, the media inexplicably promotes Trump and undermines Biden. It makes no sense at time when the two men are surrogates for tyranny and democracy, respectively."
That was Robert's best rant yet.
He's just getting warmed up.
Robert nailed it. I forwarded the whole piece to 8 of the editorial staff at WaPo and to NYT editorial staff in general.
Dear Sirs and Madams,
Why does it appear so many times that your headline editor is a Russian Bot?
The forwarded Substack by the eminent Robert Hubble should give you pause, and hopefully you might reflect upon what your commitment to our Constitution and the democracy we love means to yourselves.
Sincerely,
Ransom W. Rideout Jr.
Altadena,CA
A paid subscriber
And on the next clear day, McConnell drops Senate support because "...the country has changed." We are in a very dark place where the fear we once thought improbable is real: A minority (of one) controls the border that is governance in a democracy. That minority closed our border. The asylum is secure.
This is why I cancelled my NYT subscription.
I understand.Someone has to keep an eye on them.
Good for you. I’ll do the same tomorrow.
Very good. I logged in to WaPO and went to "contact' down at the bottom.
Here are the names to save you time. It's first.last@washpost format.
sally.buzby@washpost.com
phil.rucker@washpost.com
and down the line. justin.bank@ matea.gold@. scott.vance@. monica.norton@.
liz.seymour@. amy.fiscus@.
Sally Buzbeeis Editor in Chief. Phil Rucker is National Editor. Amy Fiscus is Assistant National Editor. All the rest are Assistant Editors.
Have fun and don't be TOO snarky.
Was listening to NPR this afternoon talk about the immigration bill and they were talking like it was all a policy difference. No mention of the statements of House GOPers saying they won’t give Biden a win. It was so frustrating I actually yelled at the radio. Which made me feel foolish because, of course, the damned thing only broadcasts in one direction. 🤦🏻♂️
It’s maddening.
and, literally, sickening.
colitis, hypertension, that fluttery thing in the upper GI system...MINE, all MINE.
I do it all the time. a habit I inherited from my dad. it doesn't matter that it can't hear you; the whole point is to make YOU feel better.
My, tell us how you really feel!
I suspect Trump's other reason for not wanting the bill passed is that he wants all the help Putin's troll farm can give him, and he knows that to ensure that he has to prevent funding to Ukraine. It's about the border, but it's not just about the border.
If I could edit Biden's speeches I would have snipped out "I refuse to let that happen" because one of the repetitive disinformation themes is to claim Biden has powers he does not have then blame him for not using them. For example, they claim Biden could shut down the border right now if he wanted to, but according to The Big Picture and Jay Kuo "Johnson cited a provision called Section 212f, which he claimed already grants the president broad rights to curtail immigration. But Trump already attempted to restrict immigration back in 2018 under Section 212f, and he was shot down by the courts. An appellate panel found that such authority conflicts with existing asylum law, and that 212f cannot override that law". In fact, I highly recommend that article for anyone who has not read it yet: https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/biden-republicans-border-migrant-crisis?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1258230&post_id=141279836&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=3fufu&utm_medium=email
Yep.
I love a good and truthful TC rant, although I would like a functioning government even better!
Read the Update I am going to attach to this post at the site.
Remind me not to piss you off. Good work, TC.
The Republicans are so tied to Trump and a failed ideology that they have no flexibility in dealing with events as they happen. They are about to hand Biden a huge message with which to smite them in November - "We gave the Republicans almost everything they wanted in the border bill and they still turned it down." And the Republicans will have no answer, because they would have to admit that Trump pulled the strings and made all the marionettes dance to his tune.....
They are so stupid...
Reading again in the am. But so far damned nice analysis.
"Napoleon observed at the Battle of Austerlitz, as he watched the Austrians tie themselves in knots, “Never interfere with an enemy who is defeating himself.”"
We can only hope that this tale of two bills will be historically significant in gaining support for democracy/Biden/sanity as was the win for Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz.
https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/the-battle-of-austerlitz-and-the-principles-of-war/
Tom knows his history too.
Thanks for a really "Divine" piece of political comedy. The Swamp has always had a rank odor, even back in the halcyon days of the "liberal consensus" when I served a House page during the Kennedy Administration, but the stink rising from the bowels of "The Immoral Minority," and especially from the "31 spineless Senate turds masquerading as senators" is so odiferous today it threatens to asphyxiate the Goddess of Justice as she reels in disbelief that Trump's fascist MAGA MORON movement, with plenty of help from FOX News, has brought the nation to this sad moment in history. Caligula's horse may be laughing at them, but we, the people, should be demanding that these traitors be arrested and prosecuted along with their malignant leader. Unfortunately, the response from the powers that be will most likely be another "nice" ineffectual "cheese plate."
Some day, this decision will be the one that whats left of the Republican Party will see as the clear nail in the coffin. They're going to figure out that this was the best chance they had, but they blew it. Before long, Democrats will have control of all three branches of government, and they will watch their opponents pass any bill or budget they want. I know the MAGA base is out there, cheating, but they won't succeed, we won't allow it.
We can't.
They will cheat til hell freezes over. Guaranteed.